


Collection

by ichilover3 (makasouls)



Category: Bleach
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-04-09
Updated: 2015-07-07
Packaged: 2017-12-08 01:00:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 36
Words: 37,456
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/755141
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/makasouls/pseuds/ichilover3
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A drabble/oneshot dump. Shenanigans, silliness, and sexy-times abound. Also alliteration, apparently.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prompt: Defending each other

**Author's Note:**

> Why hello, lovelies! About a week ago, after finishing the chap of Rapture, I was exploding with Hitsukarin feels. So, I asked the beautiful tumblr community to give me prompts to write drabbles. And, as you all know, that didn't work out, because let's be honest—I am a long-winded person who apparently likes to write epics, and can't even keep this introduction to 100 words. So, I'm just going to call them what they are—oneshots—and post them here as well as my tumblr for your amusement.
> 
> I will update these when I have time, and the rating is subject to change because Karin is cheeky and can't keep her hands to herself. (Also because someone has already requested smut.)
> 
> Anyway, hope you enjoy!
> 
> I don't own Bleach. You know me enough by now to know that I would turn it into a shitshow.

"I fail to see how any of this is funny."

His ticking eyebrow did nothing to quell her hilarity. She merely laughed harder, clutching her sides as if they hurt her.

Hitsugaya rolled his eyes, turning back to the matter at hand. "Hisagi-fukutaicho," he said icily, "this is slander. I suggest you fix it."

Karin waved the copy of  _Seireitei Communication_ lazily. "And how is he supposed to do that, Toshiro? It's already in print. Everyone in Seireitei has seen it by now."

Hisagi Shuuhei swallowed nervously. "I'm sorry, Hitsugaya-taicho. But a source saw you lurking around the Third Division late at night, and we all know how Kira…is."

Hitsugaya scoffed. "I'm helping him with his bankai."

"Whatever you'd like to call it, sir." Hisagi coughed into his fist awkwardly.

"I AM  _NOT_  GAY!" Hitsugaya thundered, unleashing another round of giggles from Karin.

"I-It's just that you've never shown interest in a woman, sir—"

"What am I, invisible?" Karin asked, lips twitching in amusement.

Hisagi was starting to sweat, eyes widening in surprise. "Well, you never seemed very feminine, so I thought—"

" _WHAT?!"_ Karin shrieked, all previous good humor gone. Her eyes flashed angrily.

The temperature in the room noticeably dropped. Hisagi shivered, though he wasn't sure if it was because of the chill or the fear running through his veins.

"I suggest you think wisely before you speak, lieutenant," Hitsugaya said softly, his tone hard as diamonds.

Hisagi blinked rapidly, hands passively raised. "I…I—"

Karin's hands slammed on the desktop. Papers fluttered to the ground, but Hisagi didn't dare pick them up. "Let's get this straight," she growled, furiously grabbing Hitsugaya's crotch. The icy taicho yelped in surprise. "Hitsugaya Toshiro is not gay.  _This_ has been in me enough times for me to know."

Hisagi stared at her, wide-eyed.

"Now, I suggest you find a way to edit that article before I  _edit your face._ Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes ma'am," the Ninth Division lieutenant squeaked.

Karin smiled, and it chilled Hisagi to the bone. "Good. Let's go, Toshiro."

Hisagi watched them leave, the snowy-haired man reprimanding her for touching him inappropriately in public and the dark-haired woman smirking in reply. It was only when he felt them head back to the Tenth that he allowed himself to breathe.

Maybe including the article about Hitsugaya Toshiro's torrid affair with Kurosaki Ichigo in next month's issue was a bad idea.


	2. Prompt: Isshin approves

To say she was surprised when he walked through the doors of the clinic was an understatement.

"Toshiro," she gasped, looking around in confusion, "What are you doing here?"

The boy in question wasn't even in a gigai, captain's haori fluttering in the air conditioning and sword still strapped to his back. "Routine check," he explained, bending down slightly to peck her on the lips. "I thought I'd stop by before I had to head back."

"How much time do you have?" Karin asked. "It's pretty much time to close the clinic anyway. We could go to dinner or something."

Hitsugaya shook his head slowly, clearly distracted. "No, I'm supposed to be back soon."

He was staring at her. Karin frowned. "What?" she demanded.

His head cocked to the side. "What…what are you wearing?"

On reflex, she looked down at herself. She saw the same practical white dress that she always wore. Usually, it hit conservatively at the knee, but hers was getting a little small, and the hem had creeped up a couple inches. She frowned self-consciously, adjusting her white little hat with the red cross on the front. "My nurse uniform. Yuzu and I wear it whenever we have clinic duty."

He didn't say anything, just continued to look at her, and that's when things seemed to click. She grinned mischievously. "Why, do you like it?"

He may have been a master of ice, but damn if his gaze didn't make her burn. When he met her eyes, there was so much heat in their cool blue color. "It looks nice on you," he conceded.

Karin closed the space between them, circling her arms around his neck. His automatically went around her waist, though his expression was mildly confused.

"How much time did you say you had?" she whispered into his neck. "Enough to help me change out of this?"

Hitsugaya inhaled sharply. She could hear his pulse quicken. "Karin, I don't think that's a good idea."

"Why not?" the dark-haired girl asked, idly twirling the baby hairs at the nape of his neck with a finger. She knew she wasn't playing fair, but she didn't particularly care at the moment. "We have the whole place to ourselves. Yuzu is at sewing club, Ichi-nii went back to his university last night, and my dad left five minutes ago to go buy groceries. All I have to do—" she detached herself from him, locking the door to the clinic and flipping the OPEN sign to CLOSED—"is this."

He visibly swallowed. "I don't know—"

But the oldest Kurosaki twin had already made up her mind. She pressed a finger against his lips, effectively silencing him. "We don't have time for talking. You're on a tight schedule,  _Hitsugaya-taicho._ "

Toshiro had been dating Karin long enough to know when he was fighting a losing battle, and it wasn't as if he had been been fighting this one very hard to begin with. He smirked. "Well then,  _Nurse._ I guess it's time for your check up."

For a second, she smiled, and he was reminded of what made him fall in love with her. But then she waggled her eyebrows at him, grabbing him by the hand and leading him to the corner where the beds were.

When she pulled the curtain from around the bed, she did so with enough force that the curtain rings threatened to snap. But Hitsugaya was just as eager, scooping her up and practically tossing her onto the bed. Karin giggled when he slid on top of her, guiding his already searching mouth to hers.

They were both so eager, in fact, that they didn't notice the sound of the lock turning until it was too late.

"Can you believe I made it all the way to the store and forgot my—"

The couple froze, wide-eyed.

Kurosaki Isshin froze as well, his smile looking more and more sinister with each awkward second that passed.

"Maybe he doesn't see you," Karin whispered desperately from the corner of her mouth. Toshiro looked at her incredulously, removing his hand from beneath her dress in what he hoped was a discreet manner.

"Wallet," Isshin finished, his smile no less unnerving. His keys still dangled limply in his hand. "Hello, Toshiro."

It was as if they had both been touched by a live wire. They couldn't seem to get away from each other fast enough, Hitsugaya scrambling away from Karin so fast that he tumbled onto the floor. Their faces were an unhealthy shade of puce.

"Daddy," Karin squeaked.

"T-Taicho," Hitsugaya stuttered.

Isshin glared. "Don't you two think you're too young to be doing that?"

Karin's heart was beating so fast, she could hear her pulse in her head. "Well…I…"

"…Without protection?" her father finished, the happy grin from before back on his face.

The couple's jaws dropped, and they looked at each other in confusion.

"I know I'm always teasing your brother about grandkids"— Isshin walked to the front desk, rustling around until it produced his wallet—"but you're still too young for that, Karin-chan. You have to make sure to use protection!"

Her brain was going to explode. It felt like it, at least. "What."

"Condoms are in the nightstand next to the bed!" the dark-haired man informed her, already halfway out the door. "They might be those silly bunny ones your brother left behind, but they'll get the job done." He winked. "Have fun, you two!"

They watched as he left the clinic, locking the door behind him.

From his spot on the floor, Hitsugaya was now looking a little green around the edges.

Karin was waiting for the gods to just smite her down and get it over with. "OH GOD. HE THOUGHT WE WERE GOING HAVE SEX!"

"We  _were_ going to have sex," her boyfriend answered, almost absently.

"Yes, but now HE KNOWS FOR SURE AND HE ACTUALLY LEFT SO WE COULD DO IT AND—" Horrified, she yanked open the top drawer of the nightstand next to her. Chappy's face smiled at her from little foil rectangles.

" _OH GOD!"_


	3. Prompt: Isshin introduces them

He wondered what she was doing here. She couldn't have been older than fourteen, and this was certainly not a good environment for a child.

Members of the Eleventh Division, never ones to miss a party, were starting to get extra rowdy, wrestling matches frequently breaking out. Matsumoto, sake bottle in hand and Madarame Ikkaku under arm, was avidly participating in a singalong, becoming increasingly out of tune the more sake hit her system.

Kurosaki Isshin was leading a conga line, his hakama mysteriously missing, displaying underwear that declared him to be the "World's Best Dad!"

Abarai Renji was passed out, face-down, on the floor, having lost a drinking game to Hinamori Momo. Kira Izuru looked like he was quickly going to join his red-headed friend, barely hanging on to consciousness, while Hinamori grinned triumphantly. No one ever suspected her ability to drink just about everyone under the table.

To the surprise of absolutely no one, Kurosaki Ichigo and Kuchiki Rukia were vehemently trying to find each other's tonsils. While they had always adamantly denied having any sort of romantic feelings for each other, their tongues told a different story. Alcohol did that to people, he supposed. That and almost dying.

And, in midst of the madness, the dark-haired child sat at a table, clad in a school uniform, idly sipping on a beverage that was most likely too mature for her.

Unable to leave it alone, he found himself sliding into the seat across from hers, the words tumbling from his mouth. "Aren't you a little young to be here?"

She blinked, dark lashes surrounding darker irises, and he was struck with a feeling of familiarity, though he had never met her before. She swirled her cup slowly. "Aren't you?"

"I'm one hundred and two," he retorted.

Those familiar eyes widened, and she whistled low. "You don't look a year over twelve!" She took a sip of her drink. "Please, share your secret!"

"Dying," he deadpanned, reaching over and plucking the cup from her fingers.

She scowled, the expression completely changing her face, and once again she looked familiar, though he couldn't put his finger on why. "Excuse you," she snapped, reaching for the cup unsuccessfully.

He held it out of her grasp, contemplating for a few moments before downing its contents. Champagne, he noted as the sweet liquid slid down his throat. She had good taste for someone so young.

Her enraged face tinged with pink. "Why didn't you just get your own goddamn drink?"

A snowy eyebrow raised at her choice of language. This girl really was too mature for her own good. "I don't drink."

"You just did!" she mocked. Her face pinked again, and he wondered how much she had had. "From  _my_ cup! And for your information, I'm allowed a drink during celebrations. And I think the end of the war is a reason to celebrate."

He wanted to ask her what she could possibly know about the war, but she was suddenly tackled by another girl, the force of the hug almost knocking her out of her chair. The new girl grinned, snuggling her nose into the crook of the dark-haired girl's neck. She sighed at the newcomer. "How many have you had, Yuzu?"

"Just one," the light-haired girl said defensively. "…I think."

The dark haired girl muttered something that sounded suspiciously like  _lightweight_ , but the other girl, Yuzu apparently, focused her gaze on him. She didn't look any older than the other girl—wearing the same exact uniform, in fact—yet her face was clearly pinked with liquor. "He's cute!" she declared loudly. "Who's that?"

The dark-haired girl let out an audible sigh. "Some tight-ass."

"Really?" Yuzu grinned, releasing her from her embrace. "You looked?"

" _And_  that's enough for you," she replied, slipping a fruity-drink from the other girl's lax fingers.

"You're right," she sighed, winking at him. But then her gaze focused on something else, and he followed it behind him, straight to where an inebriated Ichigo had pinned an equally inebriated Rukia to a wall. "They're really going at it, aren't they?"

The dark-haired girl shrugged, sipping on the drink she had just confiscated. Her eyes briefly locked with his, smugly challenging him. "It was bound to happen. I just wish they'd  _get a damn room!_ "

The sudden shout did nothing to stir the offending couple, easily swallowed in the noise of the party. The girl named Yuzu laughed, patting her on the shoulder before wandering over to join Matsumoto's rambunctious song.

"Your friend?" he asked her, not even bothering to take her second drink. She seemed perfectly lucid, if not embarrassed.

She inclined her head. "Twin."

Well,  _that_ was a surprise. Where the girl Yuzu had been fair-haired and sweet-faced, this girl was dark, from her hair to her eyes to her speech. On first glance she had seemed young, but after interacting with her, he wasn't so sure anymore. There was a sort of maturity in her familiar eyes, and her face was losing babyfat, sharper angles peeking through.

There was a loud crash as a bottle was cracked over someone's head, champagne fizzing onto the floor. He sighed, happy everyone had decided to hold the party in the Ninth.

"Why are you here?"

He met her confused gaze.

"You've had a stick up your ass this whole time," she said matter-of-factly. "Why even come if you're just going to damper everyone else's fun?"

He sat back in surprise, not used to someone speaking to him so unrestrainedly. He wasn't sure how he felt about it. "I'm expected to be here," he replied cooly. "Why are  _you_ here?"

She smirked, amused. "Well I—"

The words completely halted, a look of pure horror on her face. That was all the warning he got before he suddenly found himself picked up by a nearly naked Isshin. The man had discarded the rest of his shihakusho, standing now only in his "World's Best Dad!" undies. "Toshiro!"

"Taicho," he said, exasperated.

"Dad!" the girl hissed. "Where are your clothes?"

That shocked him enough to stop struggling in the older man's hands.  _Dad?_

It made sense, now that he knew what he was looking for. The eyes that seemed so familiar were an exact replica of ones he had looked at for decades—Shiba Isshin's. The curve of her jaw as she scowled at the older man looked exactly like Kurosaki Ichigo's.

"That Hinamori girl took them from me. I'm pretty sure she's cheating." Isshin looked nonplussed. "Don't play any games with her."

"I wasn't planning on it, you goat-faced loon," she snapped.

Toshiro's eyebrows receded to his hairline. She may have resembled her family, but her sharp tongue was hers alone.

Isshin's eyes struggled to focus, and he looked cross-eyed at him. "Toshiro-kun! Why aren't you having any fun?"

"Toshiro," the girl repeated.

"You don't know each other?" Isshin lit up. "Allow me! This is Hitsugaya Toshiro. He used to be Daddy's subordinate when Daddy was a captain, honey. Now he runs Daddy's old squad! And Toshiro-kun, this is my daughter Karin-chan~!"

Hitsugaya sighed, his feet dangling limply. How was anyone supposed to take him seriously when he was being toted around like a child? "Nice to meet you."

Her jaw dropped slightly before she caught it. " _You're_  a captain?"

" _Yes_ ," he bristled.

"You need to have some fun, Toshiro-kun," Isshin slurred, swinging the small captain side to side. "Why don't you come have a drink with me and Rangiku, eh?"

"Karin-chan!" It was Yuzu again, grinning ear to ear. "Karin-chan, there's a closet around the corner!"

Karin frowned. "So?"

Hitsugaya was startled when the light-haired twin intensely looked at him in a way that she probably thought was discreet. He sputtered indignantly.

Karin got beet-red at the insinuation. " _Oh for the love of…_ " Her head snapped to her father. "Put him down and let's go!"

Isshin pouted. "But—"

" _Down!_ " she snarled. "You're both drunk. Let's go!"

Hitsugaya Toshiro could only watch in amazement as the strong, fearless captain he knew bent to the will of a mere teenage girl, setting his feet gently back on the ground. He felt Isshin ruffle his hair affectionately. "Some other time, eh, Toshiro?"

Karin was now glancing around the crowded room. "Where'd Ichi-nii go?"

"He's in the  _other_  closet," Yuzu happily supplied.

Karin mumbled about not being able to take them anywhere, linking an arm through each of family members' and starting to drag them away. At the last second, she looked over her shoulder, meeting his eyes. She was blushing from her family's antics, but the look she gave him was strong, unwavering. "See you later, Toshiro." And without waiting for his answer, she continued walking away.

"She'll call you!" Yuzu shouted above the noise, much to her sister's chagrin.

He watched them as they stepped over Renji and Kira's unconscious bodies and around Matsumoto, who was unknowingly starting to suffocate Hisagi Shuuhei with her breasts. Then they were gone.

And he found himself thinking about this anomaly of a girl, hoping to see her later.


	4. Prompt: Snow Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's Hitsukarin Week on tumblr, in case some of you didn't know! And, funnily enough, this prompt matched perfectly with the Hitsukarin Week prompt for today, so I killed two birds with one stone.

The snowball hits him square in the head.

He scowls, turns to the culprit.

She cackles, sprinting away from him like a child. She is hindered in her getaway by the sheer amount of clothing she is wearing—hat, scarf, mittens, sweater, coat, boots, and…what did she call them?…snow pants?

Either way, she waddles more than runs, and it would all be quite comical if he didn't have slush creeping down his neck.

"Shouldn't you be studying?" he asks, irritated.

"Why would I do that?" she calls. She's sticking her tongue out to catch the flakes, and he can't help but smile at the pure glee on her face. "It's a snow day!"

But he has always been the more practical one. "Yes," he concedes, making his way back to her side, "but it's a snow day  _I_ created. Because you said you needed more time to study."

"I know that," she retorts. "But snow days are for snowmen and snowball fights and sledding and snow angels, not studying!"

He raises an eyebrow, undeterred. He did not abuse his zanpakuto's power just so she could play in the snow.

She sighs a loud, lengthy sigh that makes him out to be the unreasonable one. "How about this? We'll make snow angels and get Yuzu to make us some hot chocolate. Then I'll study, I promise."

"Okay," he agrees reluctantly. "How do you do this 'snow angel'?"

She smiles, a smile he has come to learn means she is up to no good. Still, he is unprepared when she tackles him and they both go flying into the snow.

He instinctively takes the brunt of the fall, and she lands on top of him with an  _ooof._ Still, the snow covers her form as much as his.

"Thanks, Toshiro," she says, and this close he can see the snowflakes touch her eyelashes before they melt into nothingness. She leans over and kisses him on the cheek, her own tinted pink from the cold or something more.

He can feel his face warm. "No problem," he mutters. She smiles, and he wonders why he even fought her in the first place.

And then she stuffs a handful of snow into his face, and he remembers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's actually drabbley this time are you guys proud of me? You know I have issues writing short things and not turning them into epics. lol
> 
> Let me know. ;)


	5. Prompt: Soccer Ball

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I've been writing drabbles for Hitsukarin Week, and I figured I'd post them here too (since I technically already posted one last chapter, and since this is a HK drabble/oneshot dump anyway). Let me know what you think about each one!

She never told anyone, but by the time she entered high school, she didn't even like soccer anymore.

It was simply a matter of growing up and growing out of certain hobbies. Her focus shifted; she found herself growing more interested in archery, joining her school's club and buying magazines. Soccer just didn't ignite a burning passion within her like it used to. And she was okay with that.

Still, she found herself trying out for her school's team (and making it); found herself practicing when she got home; found herself dedicating hours and  _hours_  of her time to a sport she no longer had absolutely  _any_ interest in—

And she knew it wasn't just habit.

He was gone a lot, the snowy-haired boy with piercing eyes that had stolen her heart. Hers was not a world that he belonged in, and so he was rarely ever in it.

A soccer ball—one she still had in her closet—was what brought him to her. She would not abandon it.

She would simply keep playing, and hope he kept coming.


	6. Prompt: Amanatto

"You're such an old man," she laughs.

He rolls his eyes and pops another piece of candy in his mouth. He is used to her teasing, and it takes a lot to rile him up nowadays. Besides, how can he be angry when he's eating amanatto?

"Well, you  _are_ ninety years old," she muses, eyes full of mirth. "And your hair is white. I don't know why I expected anything less. Maybe I should call you jii-chan?"

He sighs, watches as she hides an obvious snicker behind a hand. "It's good. You should just try it."

She shakes her head, holds a hand to her heart like she is deeply offended. "I'm not nearly old enough,  _jii-chan_." And then she's off on another set of giggles.

 _No one_  finds Kurosaki Karin as funny as Kurosaki Karin does.

He sighs again, grabs a piece of candy out of the bowl. Reaches over and places it into her unsuspecting mouth.

Her laughter stops abruptly. His fingers brush her lips, and her face flushes. "Good?" he asks, eyebrow raised.

He smirks to himself as she slowly chews. "Good," she concedes, embarrassed and looking away.

"I'm glad you like it." He grabs another piece. " _Baa-chan_."


	7. Prompt: Scarf

It is ugly.

Parts of it are bright red, others purple, and he can already tell that it will only get uglier before it gets better. It doesn't help that the surrounding skin is unmarred, drawing further attention to it. And unfortunately, there is no denying what it is.

He fingers the skin, glaring at her through the mirror.

Her hair is tousled and her clothes in disarray, her lips swollen and face flushed, but the look she sends him is no less than smug. "What's the matter?" she grins. "Want me to do the other side?"

"You're not funny," he retorts. "And  _this_  isn't funny."

"Yes it is," she snorts, walking from behind him. She wraps her arms around his middle and rests her chin on his shoulder. Their mirrored selves look back at them. "And you can't get mad. You were totally fine with it five minutes ago."

She's right, of course. But this was before he realized he'd have to head back to Seireitei with an obvious hickey.

"You don't understand," he sighs.

She scoffs, lifts her hair. A reddened splotch is unveiled.. "See? I got one too. We're twinsies."

He is moping, but he can't help it. "Yours isn't  _nearly_ as big as mine," he points out. "And you have hair that can cover it. I can't go back looking like this. Matsumoto—I'll never hear the end of it."

She rolls her eyes, unwinds her arms from around him. Walks over to her closet and roots around until she finds what she's looking for. "Here."

He stares at the turquoise fabric dangling from her fingertips incredulously. "It's summer," he deadpans.

"Wear it as a fashion statement, then. Look, it even matches your eyes." She grins, looping it around his neck. "There. Now you don't even see it."

"Really?"

She pulls on the scarf a little, bringing his face down to her height. "Really," she murmurs against his lips.

Vaguely, as his hands follow the curve of her back, he remembers that this is the same activity that caused his predicament in the first place.

But he finds he doesn't care.


	8. Prompt: Ponytail

It had been a while since he had seen her, and it showed on her body.

Her hair, once chopped to a no-nonsense length, was now long enough to be put in a ponytail, the inky strands ruffling in the breeze.

Her face was starting to lose babyfat, high cheekbones and sleek angles peeking through. Her eyes, while always expressive, now seemed to convey a maturity that wasn't there before. They had seen more than they should have, more than anyone should have.

Though she wore the same style of clothes she always did—a yellow tank top, a pair of shorts, sneakers— he could tell that she filled them out differently. Before more straight up and down, now he could see her hips starting to flare out, her chest starting to form. And when she stood next to him, they were no longer the same height.

When he looked at her, he saw time passing.

She was only thirteen, but she wouldn't be for long. Soon she would be twenty, fifty,  _eighty—_ and then what would he do?

Him, who had lived her lifetime ten times over. Him, who was perpetually a little boy.

Visiting her had become something that he looked forward to. But how long would he be able to keep doing it?

She was going to make new friends, maybe even a few enemies. She was going to fall in love, get married, have kids. She was going to go to school, to get a job, to live, to learn, to laugh, to cry.

Her life was going to go by in a blink of his eye.  _And where would he fit in it?_

"Why are you staring?" Karin asked, smiling self-consciously. Her spoon was suspended in air, halfway between her ice cream and her mouth. "Is there something on my face?"

 _Could_ he fit in it?

"Sorry," he mumbled, averting his eyes to his own bowl. "I was just thinking that you look different."

"Oh." She fingered the end of her ponytail thoughtfully. "Yeah, I guess I'm growing it out. Do you like it?"

He wondered if she understood how loaded her question was, if she even knew what she was asking. Did he like the physical proof of their differences, of the distance between them, of the line that probably shouldn't be crossed?

"It looks nice," he said quietly.

She gave him a little shove, her cheeks pinking in pleasure.

_**Should** _ _he fit in it?_


	9. Prompt: Blush

Besides trying to make him laugh, trying to annoy him, and trying to scare him, one of Karin's favorite pastimes was trying to make Hitsugaya Toshiro blush.

It became sort of a game. There were players—Matsumoto was usually oh-so-delighted to join her. There were rules—he had to be  _embarrassed,_ not merely angry (and both women were skilled at distinguishing between the two). There was a point system—different shades of red were worth various points; more points were awarded if there were other people present to witness his embarrassment.

Each player had her own style. Matsumoto liked to cradle him between her breasts, to get drunk and tell everyone embarrassing stories about him, to feed Hisagi false gossip to put into  _Seireitei Communication_. Karin liked to speak in innuendo, to pinch his butt when he walked by, to drop things and slowly bend over to pick them up.

They always had a hoot when they played this game. But sometimes Karin wondered if there was another player that she had overlooked.

"You're beautiful," he would whisper against her skin.

 _I love you so much_ , his eyes would tell her with startling intensity.

 _Don't ever leave_ , his hands pleaded.  _I can't live without you._

And just like that, her body would be engulfed in flames.


	10. Prompt: Future

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't even ask me what this is, because I have no idea. Also, I find myself in love with the Karin/Rukia/Matsumoto trio.

"You know, you guys would have really cute kids," Matsumoto notes.

From his desk, Hitsugaya sputters.

Karin, however, merely scoffs. "Of course we would. We're hot as fuck." She reddens a little at verbally admitting that she finds her choking friend attractive, but hey. It is what it is. "We would have the best-looking kids in Soul Society, let's be real."

"What would they look like?" Rukia muses, a smile on her lips.

Her friends are teasing her again, Karin knows. They know of her gigantic crush on Hitsugaya Toshiro, and are always trying to meddle and get them together. She just wishes that they would have a little more tact.

Still, she plays along. "Well, they would have white hair—"

"That's not likely," Toshiro says, and all three of the women look over at him in surprise. Karin raises a questioning eyebrow. "It's just not how genetics work," he continues.

"I know how genetics work," Karin huffs. "What's your point?"

"That black hair is a dominant gene."

"That didn't stop my brother from being born with orange hair," Karin points out. "For all you know, our kids could pop out looking like Ichi-nii."

Hitsugaya looks visibly appalled at this. Matsumoto sniggers.

Karin crosses her arms over her chest triumphantly. "They could also look like Yuzu. And you don't even remember your ancestry, so for all you know, your white hair is a dominant trait too. So some of them might have it. Or, who knows, they might pop out gray."

"Fine," he concedes. "You're right. But they'll definitely have your eyes. Unless you have a recessive gene for it."

"What a shame," Karin mutters to herself, and she sees Matsumoto and Rukia side-eye each other. But can they blame her? His eyes are his best feature!

And honestly, those two might as well be holding neon signs, because they are just as subtle.

"How many would you have?" Matsumoto prompts.

Karin wonders why she is friends with people who only want to make her life difficult. "Four," she throws out randomly.

"Four?!" Hitsugaya's eyes widen. "I was thinking one!"

Karin is appalled. "Do you want our child to be a spoiled brat?"

"Are you trying to start a soccer team?" he counters.

"I just figured with four kids, there would be no middle child."

"And  _I_ just wanted to make sure our child got enough attention."

"Why don't you go for two then?" Matsumoto intercedes.

Karin bites her lip, thinking about it. "I don't know. I kinda like having more than one sibling."

"Then what about three?" Rukia offers. "I know there's a middle child, but  _you're_ a middle child, Karin, and you seem to be well-adjusted."

A pause. "It's not so bad," Karin sniffs.

"Taicho?" Matsumoto asks.

"It is easier to care for three children than four," he concedes.

"Well then it's settled," Rukia announces. "Three kids with rainbow-colored hair."

When Karin looks at Toshiro and sees that his face is flushing, she suddenly realizes what she's been contemplating: a domestic life with her best friend, who she's not dating and hasn't even admitted her feelings for.  _Three kids_. Which means sex, at least three times.

She wonders if it's possible to explode from embarrassment.

The look Rukia gives her is nothing short of haughty.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that ends Hitsukarin Week! It was fun, and pretty refreshing to write actual drabbly things. I've still got some prompts, but you know me—they're probably going to be more oneshot-esque.


	11. Prompt: Skating

"You have  _got_  to be kidding me."

If looks could kill, Urahara Kisuke would definitely be a dead man. If the rage Karin was sending his way wasn't enough, the look _he_  was giving that eccentric bastard made it feel like the temperature in the rink had dropped a couple degrees.

"I most certainly am not, Kurosaki-san," Urahara responded cheerily, not seeming to notice the hostility in the air.

Karin's teeth ground together. "How the hell do you expect me to work with  _him_?"

The bane of her existence turned his cool gaze on her. "Stop talking about me as if I'm not two feet in front of you." He frowned. "I don't like this any more than you do."

She bit her tongue and took a deep breath before her Kurosaki temper got out of control and she made him regret the very moment he opened his stupid mouth.

Hitsugaya Toshiro, up and rising figure skater and the top male in their league. Also an arrogant, cold, self-centered son of a bitch with a stick perpetually shoved up his ass. Well, that was the Karin got from his interviews and her few interactions with him. He just rubbed her the wrong way, and she didn't want to be around someone who obviously thought he was better than everyone else and God's gift to women. Was he attractive? Sure. If you liked the pretty type. Which Karin did not. Obviously.

But if she wasn't sure before if her skating coach had a few screws loose, she definitely was now. Because there was no way in hell she would become partners with that white-haired bastard.

"Hear me out," Urahara said, holding his hands up placatingly. "Both of you are my best students, and the best I've had in a while. With a few more years, you each could be ready for the Olympics."

Karin felt slightly mollified by his compliment, but still crossed her arms. "So?"

"So—" he peered at her from under his stupid hat "—I believe that, working together, you have the potential to make it to the Olympics  _this_  year."

That got both of their attentions. Karin's mouth dropped open a little. "Really?"

"I don't do pair skating," Hitsugaya informed them cooly.

"That's because you're too short to lift anyone two feet above the ground," Karin retorted. "And because no one wants to deal with your attitude."

She knew she hit a nerve when she could see a vein pop out of his forehead. " _My_ attitude?" he snapped. His eyes, normally as bright and clear as the ocean, seemed to darken as if a storm was rolling in. And before she knew it, he had grabbed her hand and yanked her onto the ice.

"What are you doing?" she growled, trying to detach her hand from his as he took them in a circuit of the rink. But he only grasped her more tightly.

"Proving a point." He led her into a small spin, and Karin followed unconsciously. "Twist lift."

That was the only warning she got before she felt secure hands on her waist and she was tossed into the air. Alarmed, she let out a startled "Whoa!" before her body knew what to do and she twisted.

She felt it then, the connection they seemed to have. It was a sort of electricity in the air, the unexplainable attraction of opposite forces, and the feeling only seemed to get stronger when Hitsugaya Toshiro caught her in his arms without missing a beat.

She knew he could feel it too. She knew from the expression on his face—frown lines gone with soft blue—so,  _so_ blue—eyes in their place. She knew from the fact that he didn't let her down right away, and just kept skating with her in his surprisingly muscular arms.

She was wrong about him being too short to lift her, and was probably wrong about other things about him. But her reluctant apology died on her lips, and she could only stare back at him.

It was the sound of clapping that snapped them out of it. Karin scrambled to her feet, smoothing her skirt down unnecessarily. Hitsugaya coughed awkwardly, no longer meeting her eyes.

"See?" Urahara said gleefully, still slow-clapping, "That right there is going to win the gold."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know absolutely squat about figure skating and idk what this even is. Whoops


	12. Prompt: Smutty Smut Smut

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Someone requested smut, and I started writing it and then lost interest for months until Adobo-chan wrote her own smut and inspired me. haha I'm sorry in advance! idk what I'm doing anymore

If there was one thing she never would have expected, it was Hitsugaya Toshiro sitting at her kitchen table tonight of all nights.

The very sight of it made her pause at the bottom of the stairs, causing her sister to bump into her from behind. "What are _you_ doing here?" she blurted before she could stop herself, eyes widening in disbelief.

Aquamarine eyes met hers, slightly confused. He sat right next to Jinta, no doubt listening to her father prattle on and on about something or another. But when she processed that he was dressed sharply in a suit, she quickly came to her answer.

"No," she breathed, looking over her shoulder at her twin accusingly. The other girl looked sheepish. "Yuzu.  _No."_

But the snowy-haired boy only confirmed her fears, frowning a little. "I'm here to take you to the dance."

She could only gape in response.

This could  _not_ be happening.

Yuzu prodded her from behind, forcing her to walk further into the room. Even Rukia, who had helped them get ready, looked a little guilty. Karin glared at them, betrayed.

She had never wanted to go to this stupid dance in the first place. She never went to school dances—they were just lame excuses for girls to get ogled and for everyone to get drunk after. Karin found it all to be degrading and unnecessary. 

But then Yuzu went on and on about this being the last dance before they graduated and wanting to have this memory together and blah blah blah, and, predictably, she agreed, because she had a hard time saying no to her twin. She went dress shopping, settling on a tight-fitting ruby number that was a little too short for her taste but made her ass look good. She allowed her hair to be washed and curled and messed with until it ran in tousled waves down her back. She let her face to be made up until she was blemish free and had smoky, come-hither eyes. And she did it all for her sister, and as one last  _fuck you_ to the bitches in school that liked to snicker at her tomboyish ways behind manicured hands.

She was just going to go there, look hot enough to make everyone jealous, and end high school with a bang. She hadn't factored Hitsugaya into this equation.

Yuzu gave her a small smile, still trying to gauge her reaction. She had gone the more conservative route, choosing a strapless, cream-colored satin dress with a beaded bodice; the flowy material ended a few inches below Karin's. Her hair had also been curled, but the honeyed strands had been twisted into a pretty up-do. Overall, she looked _way_ too good to be attached to Jinta's ugly mug all night...

Karin paused in her musing, a new thought filtering into her head. She glanced at Hitsugaya, who was looking at her strangely.  _This may turn out better than I thought._

"You didn't know I was coming, did you?" he asked, eyebrows furrowing.

Yuzu raised a hand timidly. "That's my fault. She didn't have a date, so I thought—well—"

Jinta sniggered. "She did you a favor, Kurosaki. It's not like you could've found anyone else to go with you. Well, not for free."

"Shut the fuck up Jinta," Karin snapped. "Nobody cares what your stupid ass thinks anyway."

Yuzu patted her boyfriend's arm consolingly. "I do."

Throughout the entire exchange, Isshin adamantly took pictures. Karin's teeth ground together as a particularly bright flash burned her retinas. "Look, can we just go?"

"We have to take a good one!" Yuzu insisted. "To put in the photo album!"

Karin sighed, wrapping an arm around her sister and smiling obligingly as Isshin pointed the camera in their faces. The flash blinded her for a second, but she quickly blinked it away.

"And one with your dates!" Rukia called unhelpfully. Karin scowled at her, but it had no effect—at this point, Rukia was completely desensitized to Kurosaki scowls, and merely grinned at her.

Meddling bitch.

Karin felt him come up behind her, and she willed her body not to react. This was easier said than done as the longtime object of her affection wrapped his hands around her waist, mirroring Jinta to Yuzu. Her heartbeat quickened, blood thundering in her ears, and she prayed none of her nervousness showed on her face, especially since it was about to be immortalized in film. She smiled.

Isshin started to sniffle. "MASAKI—"

"And that's our cue," Karin snapped, grabbing her "date" by the forearm. "Let's go!"

Hitsugaya looked startled by her urgency, but came along willingly.

"Have a good time!" Rukia called.

Karin flipped her off without turning around. Rukia laughed.

Why did her family insist on meddling in her life?

* * *

Urahara had allowed Jinta to borrow the shop van for the night. In Karin's opinion, they all looked way too classy for a vehicle that looked like it had a history of snatching children, but it was a pair of wheels, so she wasn't going to complain. Yuzu got in front with the redhead, leaving Karin to climb in the back with Hitsugaya. 

She got in first, hoping she wasn't inadvertently showing him parts of her he really didn't need to see. When they were both seated, she turned to him apologetically. "You know, you really don't have to go."

He shrugged, fiddling with his seatbelt. "I'm here now."

"But Yuzu tricked you," Karin retorted. "And I'm sure you have more important things to do than to go to a high school dance."

"My schedule is clear," he responded, still trying to figure the seatbelt out. "Matsumoto is covering me. She practically pushed me out of the Senkaimon herself."

Karin felt her heart flutter. He had cleared his busy schedule for  _her_. Seeing him still struggling, she reached over and took the seatbelt from him, immediately regretting it. The move forced her to be in extremely close proximity with him—so close that she felt his breath on her face, felt the stiffening of his body. Ignoring the goosebumps that jumped up her arms, she fastened the seatbelt securely around him and quickly moved out of his space.

Hitsugaya blinked slowly at her. "Thanks."

"No problem." She cleared her throat. "So how did Yuzu trick you anyway?"

"I got a text from _you_ asking me to go.”

Yuzu turned around in her seat, shamefaced. “I’m sorry for tricking you, Toshiro-kun. I just didn’t want Karin to go by herself, and I knew you would be a good date.”

“I didn’t plan on going alone,” the dark-haired twin huffed. “I was supposed to go with one of my so-called friends, but they all ditched me to try and get a _real woman._ ” Her teeth ground together. “ _I’ll show them a real woman!_ ”

Jinta sniggered, but shut up quick when Karin punched him in the back of the head.

“I’ll show them,” Karin growled. “I’ll show _all_ of them.”

* * *

 

The dance was being held at the Karakura community center, the only place in town big enough to accommodate their entire graduating class. Jinta pulled up to the front of the building and let them all get out while he looked for a parking space.

Karin grinned, her resolve renewed. She turned to her date. “You weren’t a part of the plan, Toshiro, but you fit in nicely.”

He looked at her blankly. “What is the plan exactly?”

“To show those fuckers how hot I am, obviously,” she retorted.

His brow furrowed. “And you need me because…?”

“Because _I’m_ attractive,” she said slowly. For a genius, sometimes her best friend wasn’t very bright. “And _you’re_ attractive. And attractive people only get more attractive when they’re with other attractive people.”

“It’s true,” Yuzu added, nodding sagely. “And you’re both looking pretty attractive.”

Yes, the white-haired captain was looking mighty fine, if Karin could say so herself. His black suit was well-fitted, showing off the lean lines of his body, and Yuzu must have told him the color of her dress, because his tie was somehow the exact same shade of ruby. His snowy hair looked as soft and windswept as ever, and his cerulean eyes still had the ability to send shivers down her spine with only a glance.

Karin grinned. "You are going to be some excellent arm-candy, sir."

Hitsugaya rolled his eyes, but dutifully held his arm out for her to take. She did so, sliding a hand through the crook of his elbow. The strappy black heels she wore made her a little bit taller than him, something that she hadn't been in a few years. "What's this about candy?"

"Never you mind." Karin patted his arm placatingly. "Just stand there and look pretty."

"I don't look pretty," he grumped.

Karin just patted his arm again.

Jinta jogged across the parking lot, making his way over and slinging an arm over Yuzu's shoulders. Though he still looked like he fell out of an ugly tree and hit every branch on the way down, even Karin had to admit that the idiot cleaned up nicely. She would never say that out loud, though.

"The party has just arrived!" he hollered, causing other students entering the building to look at them oddly.

If beautiful people made the people around them look more beautiful, Karin could only assume what happened with stupid people. Sighing, she tugged Hitsugaya's arm a little, hoping to put a little distance between herself and Jinta before she lost her patience. Hitsugaya didn't resist at all, obediently following her into the building.

* * *

Everything was going exactly as planned.

She felt the stares as soon as they entered the room. Guys who had never given her a second look suddenly couldn't look away. Girls who had always sniggered at her less-than-feminine style were now speechless, eyes wide and jaw dropped.

And having Toshiro as her date only sweetened the pot. Hitsugaya had a cool demeanor that attracted women to him like flies. He was a hot, mysterious guy that for some reason was escorting plain old Kurosaki and getting her cool beverages. The envy in the room was palpable—the guys wanted to be with her and the girls wanted to  _be_ her.

For once, Karin reveled in the attention.  _Suck it, fuckers._

Her friends found her standing by a wall alone, waiting for her date to come back with their drinks. The look of complete and utter awe on their faces made Karin burst out laughing.

"Where are your dates?" she chuckled, arms crossed over her chest. "You know, the  _real_ women? Ryohei? Kazuya? Donny?"

Heita blinked rapidly. "Kurosaki, is that really you?"

"Of course it's me, you idiot!" Karin snapped, too pleased to be offended. Kazuya actually took off his glasses, breathed on them, and wiped them on his dress shirt, as if something had to be wrong with them.

"But you look like—" Ryohei swallowed audibly. "Like— _a girl_!"

"I  _am_ a girl," she answered smugly.

At that moment, Toshiro came back with two plastic cups in his hand. He handed her one, nodding at her friends in acknowledgement.

"Toshiro?!" They cried in unison.

"He's my date for the night," Karin said airly. "Isn't he such a great friend?"

They only gaped at her.

"Well, we should go see what Yuzu's up to. Enjoy the dance, guys!" And with that, she grabbed Hitsugaya by the hand and led him through the crowd. And when she took a sip of her punch, it tasted like victory.

* * *

Hitsugaya was the best partner in crime she could have asked for. In the beginning, whenever guys would sidle up to her and try to get her attention, he would glare at them frostily until they realized they had other matters to attend to. As the night went on, however, the glare was suddenly accompanied by an arm around her waist, pulling her flush against him and sending a very clear message— _back off_. Every time he did it she felt like she was on edge. Her heart would race, adrenaline would pump through her veins, and her skin felt aflame despite the coolness of his fingers. Still, she didn't tell him to stop. To be honest, she didn't want him to. 

She wasn't the only one with suitors, but whenever girls tried to talk to him, Hitsugaya was polite—and completely uninterested. Instead, he spent his time staking his claim as her date and bringing her copious amounts of punch. The whole graduating class in one room meant it was uncomfortably warm, but he was always there with a cool drink whenever she felt parched. Karin found herself wondering why she never thought to invite him in the first place.

Eventually, the two of them seemed to lose their shock factor, and people stopped paying attention to them. They sat at a table, drinking more punch and making a game of guessing who would end up with who by the end of the night. Karin obviously had the advantage of knowing their subjects, but Toshiro had always been good at reading people.

"See the girl in the pink?" Karin asked. "That's Takeda. She broke up with her boyfriend a couple weeks ago, but it looks like he's eyeing her. Do you think she'll go home with him?"

Toshiro smirked at her, his face a little flushed. She wondered if hers looked similar. "If her boyfriend is the guy she's been pretending not to look at all night, then of course."

"He's kind of an asshole, though," she mused, taking another sip of punch. "He cheated on her with the girl in the red."

"You mean  _her friend_?" Hitsugaya just shook his head. "Is this what human dances are about? Getting dressed up and standing and gossiping about everyone else?"

"Pretty much," Karin sighed. "That and trying to get laid. What a waste of time, right? That's why I never go to these sort of things. They're too superficial. And as much fun as it was showing off my fabulous legs, I'm done being superficial."

He looked at her intensely for a long moment, long enough for the hair on her arms to stand in anticipation of...something. "They  _are_  pretty nice legs."

Her heart thudded in her ears and she looked at him in disbelief— _did he seriously just say that?_ He was still pink in the face, his gaze unfocused.

Then it hit her. And when she started giggling—something that Kurosaki Karin normally doesn't do—she was sure of it.

The corner of Hitsugaya's lips twitched upward. "What's so funny?"

"I think someone spiked the punch," she stage-whispered before giggling again.

He frowned, peering into his cup as if he could identify what was in it. "I didn't taste anything."

"That's because it was the good stuff." Now that she was paying attention, she  _had_  been feeling warm and fuzzy. And there seemed to be a soft haze everywhere she looked, as if it was misty in the room. "I think we're drunk, buddy."

He scoffed. "I am not drunk."

"You were just complimenting my legs."

"What, I can't admire your legs? They're nice legs."

"They better be. I worked hard for 'em." The song changed, and Karin abruptly stood. "Come on, let me show you what else we do at dances."

His brow furrowed, a clear question in them, but Karin merely looked at the remainder of her drink, shrugged, and chugged the rest down. She grabbed him by the hand.

He leaned into her ear, trying to be heard over the music. "What are we doing?" he asked, breath making her shiver.

"We humans do actually dance at dances, you know," she responded in his. Her lips accidentally brushed the shell of his ear, and she quickly backed away in embarrassment, leading him through the mass of writhing bodies without another word.

There were so many people dancing that they were practically on top of each other when Karin finally found a spot she liked. Vaguely, she wondered if Yuzu and Jinta were somewhere in the crowd. But then her favorite part of the song came and she forgot all about them, dancing as wildly as everyone else.

She danced freely, not caring that the booze made her a little unsteady in her heels, or what she looked like, or what anyone else thought. She just danced, grinning like a madwoman and trying not to flash anyone as her gyrating body went almost to the floor and back up again.

For his part, Toshiro looked so adorable that Karin couldn't help but laugh. He merely stood, visibly bewildered at what was going on around him.

"Dance!" she yelled over the din, knowing he wasn't really the dancing type. To be honest, neither was she, but this was one of her favorite songs and she looked amazing and she was more than a little drunk and she was having an amazing time and she was just so  _happy_  that he was here with her and dancing seemed to be the physical manifestation of all that.

The song changed, and the crowd cheered at the choice. Karin didn't think it was possible, but more people charged onto the dancefloor, causing her to trip forward into Toshiro, who instinctively caught her with secure hands around her waist. But she soon found that people had rushed into the space that she had previously stood, forcing her to be almost flush up against her date.

She could feel him breathing again, could easily see alabaster eyelashes repeatedly hide teal irises. His hair tickled her forehead, yet she still didn't back away. Instead, she found herself moving forward, brushing his lips with hers.

She knew she was high on the room's energy and drunk off punch, because she  _never_ would have done that clear-headed. But at the moment she didn't care, too delirious.

What she didn't expect was Hitsugaya's almost immediate response. She had intended a peck, but when his insistent lips pressed back, the kiss quickly turned into something more. Her hands crept behind his neck, trying to bring him even closer to her. His tongue cautiously met her bottom lip, and she opened her mouth eagerly, introducing his tongue to hers. She was so into it that when the song changed again, this time into a slower song, Karin unconsciously rolled her body into his.

She felt him stiffen. Her eyes flew open and she pulled her face back, afraid she had crossed a line. But Toshiro didn't look offended, just surprised, so she gave another experimental roll of her hips, their pelvises meeting pleasurably. She was rewarded with a sharp intake of breath. So she did it again. And again, in time with the music.

The punch had to have numbed the logical part of Karin's brain, because she was making out with her best friend in a crowd full of people. No one was paying attention to them anymore anyway—the room was too dark, people were too focused on themselves, and there were so many gyrating, oversexed bodies that they were able to meld into the crowd easily. But sober Karin would have still been self-conscious. Right now, all that mattered to her was that she liked it and it felt good.

Hitsugaya still seemed hesitant, though. When he leaned in again, it was slowly. His hands began to roam, ghosting over her hips with caresses so light that she barely felt them. It wasn't until she sensed them hovering over her rear that she realized what he was doing—leaving her plenty of opportunities to stop him.

But she didn't want to stop. She was finally acting on feelings she had suppressed for years, and she wanted to see how far she could take it. Pointedly, she pushed back into his hands, looking him straight in the eye.

_Do it. I want you to._

He lightly squeezed, and when she groaned into his neck, it seemed to convince him to grip her butt more firmly. His thumbs rubbed small circles into the covered flesh, sending strains of electricity to her core. She ground against him harder, biting and pulling his lip.

She no longer heard the music, but  _felt_  it, felt the beat in her heart, her blood, her breath, her loins. It was sensory overload—she couldn't stay still, couldn't pay attention to anything other to what Hitsugaya was doing to her. It was almost too much.

Yet it also wasn't enough. "More," she pleaded in his ear. "Please."

For a few seconds, he merely looked at her, his eyes half-lidded and his lips bruised. Then she felt his hands wander down.

Her heart fluttered in anticipation. His fingers teased at the bare skin of the back of her thighs, just below the hemline of her dress. When she did nothing but grip the hair at the nape of his neck, the fingers slowly inched  _under_  her dress.

She had uncharacteristically chosen to wear a thong to prevent pantylines, and could see the surprise on his face when his hands met only her bare ass. And even though she had been anticipating it, she still wasn't prepared for the sensation of him touching her there. She gasped, jolting a bit.

He was watching her face carefully for any sort of dissent, a finger grazing the edge of her underwear. Karin growled. "Stop teasing me and get on with it," she demanded before sucking an earlobe between her teeth.

He stopped for a moment, distracted with the way she was using her tongue. But then a few fingers slipped under the flimsy material, winding through her pubic hair and massaging her labia.

She shivered all the way down to her toes, nipping at his neck in appreciation. And when a single finger slowly entered her, she couldn't stop her groan.

Never in her wildest dreams did she think she would ever be here, grinding on Hitsugaya Toshiro while he slowly finger-fucked her from behind. His pace was excruciatingly slow, in time to the dragging bassline. She tried to hasten his strokes, pushing back into his hand, but he ignored her, adding another finger but pumping just as leisurely as before.

She widened her stance invitingly, sighing into his neck. It felt nothing like when she touched herself—it was so much more enjoyable, more intense. And just as he took his time, so did her orgasm. When it came upon her, it was like the tide—slowly washing over her body. It started as a tingle in her toes, electricity shooting up her legs, and left her a shuddering mess unable to stand. Hitsugaya supported her weight easily, still slowly pumping his fingers and watching her intently.

But when Karin regained her senses, long hair sticking to her neck, she knew that she wanted more. She reached down and stilled his hand, slowly pulling his fingers out of her.

He looked alarmed. "Are you okay?"

She placed a reassuring kiss on his lips. "Perfect. But let's...go somewhere else."

Hitsugaya may have wielded ice, but the look he gave her did nothing less than burned. Karin laced her fingers through his and led him through the throng of still-partying people. She walked past the refreshment table, silently thanking the punch for its liquid courage. She went out of the room, down the long hallway, and yanked Hitsugaya into the unoccupied women's bathroom.

The bathroom was made for one occupant, including only a single toilet and a counter with a sink. It was perfect—there was no threat of anyone walking in on them. Karin locked the door behind them just in case, turning to her snowy-haired companion eagerly.

He was still looking at her heatedly, but there was a bit of doubt as well. "Are you sure?"

"Would I have wasted my time getting you alone if I wasn't sure?" she scoffed, grabbing him by his tie and smashing their lips together. Their teeth clacked a little, but she paid it no mind, winding her arms around his neck.

He pulled away. "I've never done this before," he murmured.

"Neither have I." She tried to pull him back to her, but he held back.

"And I might not last long."

She figured as much. It was no wonder if he was anywhere  _near_ as turned on as she was. "Toshiro. Shut up and _fuck me already_."

Hitsugaya tentatively reached out, hands again cupping her behind. "Is this okay?"

Karin had to stop herself from laughing. Not only was the question absurd after what he had just done to her minutes before, but his hands kept gravitating towards her rear.  _He must be an ass-man_. Which worked out nicely for her, because she didn't really have much up top. "How about this? You do what you want, and if I don't like it, I'll stop you."

He cocked his head. "That seems fair."

And then suddenly she was sitting on the counter. Karin blinked at the abruptness but didn't have time to dwell on it, because he was kissing her neck in a way that made her toes curl and his hands were slowly pushing the hem of her dress up. Her breath quickened, turned on by him finally taking control.

Still, Karin wasn't one to be passive. She busied herself with loosening his tie and unbuttoning his shirt, splaying her fingers over his hard chest in delight. When she lightly scraped his skin with her nails, he froze.

And then he was ripping her underwear down her legs and unzipping his pants.

Karin only got a glimpse of his manhood before he placed himself in the part of her thighs, grabbed them securely, and slowly pushed. She grunted, unused to the sensation, but felt nothing beyond discomfort. Years of being athletic had most likely already torn that part of her, and she certainly didn't miss it now.

When his pelvis was flush against hers, Toshiro looked at her questioningly. In answer, Karin licked a path up his collarbone until she met his tongue.

He pulled out then, shallowly, before reentering with more force. Karin gasped, her bare ass knocking against the basin. She wrapped her legs more tightly around his waist, scooting forward to give him more leverage.

For a few minutes, Hitsugaya's cock took its time, just as his fingers had. But then, when he fucked her particularly hard, she cried out, voice echoing off the bathroom tiles, and she involuntarily clawed at his back. He hissed, slamming into her harder and faster.  _He must like that_ , she realized, moaning despite herself. She scratched again, and was rewarded with a moan of his own.

By this point, the discomfort had turned gratifying, the burning pleasure filling her entire body. Their lovemaking was now frenzied, and Karin began to feel that tingling in her crotch that let her know that magical things were about to happen. Too far gone to feel embarrassed, Karin wound a hand between them, rubbing her clit in vigorous circles.

Hitsugaya's eyes widened at the sight, hips snapping forward fiercely. He cursed. "You are  _so_ beautiful."

Her breath came out in short pants. "It's a nice dress, isn't it?"

"It's not the dress. It's never been the dress." His breath was hot against her neck. " _God_ , I love you."

This orgasm hit her with the force of a truck. Her muscles clamped down so hard that her legs stiffened uncontrollably and Hitsugaya cursed again. Distantly, she heard a high-pitched noise, and then realized that she was the one making it. Her eyes lost focus, and she hung on to Hitsugaya for dear life. And when her body finally relaxed again, she felt like she was no longer in it, and instead was floating.

But then she saw that Toshiro was pounding away with more fervor than before and realized that she was going to take him with her.

She had never before needed to be on birth control pills, and hadn't thought she needed condoms either. And though she was sure his gigai couldn't give her any diseases, she knew that it  _could_ give her babies—that she was alive was proof enough.

"Stop," she said faintly, still out of it. She pushed gently on his chest. " _Stop._ "

Hitsugaya looked completely bemused. His eyes were filled with lust, his body damp with sweat, but he stepped away from her, sliding completely out.

She knew he was on the brink of release, but he got off of her the moment she asked him to, and Karin only loved him more for that. She grabbed his cock, making it twitch and Hitsugaya groan. It was still sticky from her, and when she gave it an experimental pump, her hand slid easily across the hot, hard flesh.

"You'll have to show me." She met his half-lidded gaze. "Show me."

Slowly, his hand covered hers, tightening her grip. Together, they inched to the end, swiped a thumb across the tip, and came back to the base. It must have felt good, because he leaned forward and rested his head on her shoulder, breathing heavily into the crook of her neck.

She repeated the action by herself when his hand fell away, and then sped up her pace when she saw his hips lurch forward and heard grunts escape his lips. She decided that she liked doing this, liked being in control and reducing _him_ into a puddle of nerve endings for once. And to be honest, it was kind of turning her on again.

However, it didn't take much longer—a minute later she felt hot liquid spray onto her fist and the top of her thighs. Hitsugaya slumped on her, and she held him upright the best she could, her heavy breathing melding with his.

For a moment it was silent as they both reflected over their mutual gratification. But then, of course, Karin had to break it.

"Hey." She poked him lightly on the side of the head. "What you said. Did you really mean it?"

* * *

Outside of the bathroom and further down the hall, Kurosaki Yuzu was on the phone with Kuchiki Rukia.

"Did it work?" Rukia demanded.

Yuzu laughed awkwardly. "A little too well."

"It's about damn time!" Yuzu could hear the smile in her voice.

She wondered if the shorter woman would still be smiling if she knew Karin and her date were most likely doing extremely naughty things at that very moment. "Please let Matsumoto-san know."

"Oh, I will," Rukia replied. "Rangiku will be over the moon that her sake went to good use."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I kinda wrote the whole second half while listening to Ke$ha nonstop, specifically her "Warrior" album. I would say that "Supernatural" is definitely this fic's theme song.
> 
> Let me know what you guys thought! :)


	13. Prompt: Boobies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In celebration of cleavage!Karin, I give you this rando~

He stood in the doorway, trying not to gape.

For a few seconds she didn't even seem notice him, smashing on the buttons of the controller with fervor. But then she inclined her head in his direction, eyes never leaving the television. "Toshiro! What brings you to my part of the woods?"

He couldn't understand how she could act so normal when…when things obviously were not! Kurosaki Karin did  _not_  normally look like that!

Oh, to be sure, she was wearing a tank top and shorts that she had worn many times before. And it had been a few months since he had seen her. But he didn't remember her being so…

Karin paused her game, finally giving him her full attention. She raised an eyebrow. "Are you okay, Toshiro?"

"Fine," he answered curtly, mentally kicking himself.

She shrugged. "Want to play, then?"

Stiffly, he made his way over to the couch, sitting down next to her. Karin handed him an extra controller, leaning over to explain to him what each button did. But Hitsugaya Toshiro didn't hear a single word she said, because from this angle he could almost see down her shirt.

When  _they_  had gotten there was beyond him, but suddenly there were curves beneath that tank top. Her chest swelled softly, and he could see the tiniest bit of cleavage. And, to his bewilderment, he was having the most peculiar reaction—the palms of his gigai were beginning to sweat, his breathing increased, and skin flushed.

It made zero sense. He was constantly in the presence of breasts  _much_  bigger than hers and he never paid them slightest bit of attention. Now, he had a hard time looking away.

"Toshiro."

Was he supposed to say something? He couldn't just very well ignore them. Maybe he should congratulate her. Puberty was a celebrated time in human life, right?

"Hey." His thoughts were cut short as Karin tapped his head with her controller. His eyes snapped to her face. "Are we gonna play, or are you going to ogle my chest all day?"

Hitsugaya sputtered. "I—"

"Either is cool." Karin smirked, so obviously smug that it pained him. "I just didn't know that you came all this way to peek down my shirt."

His face was burning now. "I didn't…I just…"

She watched him flounder, grin widening.

There was no way out of his mortification; Karin would only continue to tease him. "Bathroom," he muttered, standing abruptly and getting the hell out of there.

"All you had to do was ask!" Karin called. Her cackling followed him all the way back to Soul Society.


	14. Prompt: Thermostat

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the amazing Glowing Blue!

She never knew it was possible for a person to be that still. She could easily mistake him for a statue if she didn't pay attention to the soft rising of his chest.

Not that she blamed him. Moving required energy, and exerting energy only made the heat worse.

The worst heat wave in years had hit Karakura, and, of course, the Kurosaki Clinic's air conditioner had chosen now of all times to break. The best Karin could do was close all the blinds, wear only as many clothes as needed for modesty, and park herself underneath her living room ceiling fan. The past few days had consisted of her splayed on the carpet, hoping against all hope that the fan would start producing cold air instead of merely circulating the hot.

What she didn't understand was why Hitsugaya Toshiro was laying spread-eagle beside her.

Sure, they were friends, and he had started visiting her more often, but it was a known fact that heat and Hitsugaya never mixed well, and Karin wouldn't wish this misery on her worst enemy. Yet for some reason, the icy captain had taken time off to join her in her suffering and impersonate an inanimate object. It defied all logic.

"Toshiro."

His eyes were closed, though she saw a slight movement beneath his eyelids at the sound of her voice. After a few beats, he grunted in response.

She would have rolled her eyes if it didn't take so much energy. "Toshiro, don't worry about me."

He didn't answer, still not moving. His snowy hair stuck to his forehead.

She hadn't known that gigais could sweat.  _Urahara sure is making them realistic,_ she mused. Usually dressed nicely, the heat had made Toshiro just as much of a bum as her. He had forgone a shirt entirely, lounging instead in only a pair of shorts.

For her part, Karin had thrown on an old wife-beater of her brother's, the hem of which had risen above her belly button, and a pair of her soccer shorts. At this point, though, it was a miracle she was wearing any clothes at all.

Her eyes flicked to the thermostat on the wall, big numbers informing her it was thirty-five degrees in the house. It could only be worse outside.

"Toshiro," she continued, managing to gesture dramatically. "You don't have to do this. Save yourself!"

For a brief moment, her arm came in contact with his, a shiver running through her. She had forgotten that Toshiro's body temperature typically ran a little on the cool side.

She had a revelation.

Using more effort than she liked, Karin scooted closer to the shinigami with a built-in cooler. She knew he heard her coming, but his eyes didn't snap open until she had gotten uncomfortably close.

"What are you doing?" he demanded.

She knew that she was invading his space, and that though both a boy and a friend, Toshiro was not her  _boyfriend_. Still, she couldn't find it in herself to care as she inched to his side, throwing an arm around his middle. She sighed contentedly when his cool skin met her feverish skin.

Karin felt him immediately tense. " _What are you doing?_ " he demanded again. When she looked up at him, his face was flushed, though she couldn't tell if it was from embarrassment or the heat.

"I'm sorry, but it's just too damn hot!" she retorted, feeling her own face flare up.

"It's not my fault it's so hot, Karin." This close, she could feel his gigai take more rapid breaths. "What do you want me to do?"

"Make it snow?" she suggested.

"You know I can't do that," he scoffed, aquamarine eyes almost glaring down at her. "It's an abuse of my power."

"Fine," Karin huffed, hooking a leg around one of his. It forced her to be flush against him. "This'll just have to do then," she murmured into his neck.

For a few more moments, she thought he would fight her. But then she felt him sigh, the tension leaving his body. He shifted his arm to be around her shoulders, simultaneously giving his consent and making Karin more comfortable. He shut his eyes again.

Karin let out a pleased hum.

They laid there in companionable silence, the only noise in the room the whirring of the fan's fruitless endeavors. And when an hour later the door slid open and her brother entered—completely bewildered and upset about their floor cuddle-session—, Karin merely offered him one of Hitsugaya's arms.


	15. Prompt: Hair Color

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also for Glowing Blue. Happy birthday, girl!

When he first met her, Kurosaki Karin didn't seem to care that much about her appearance—the only thing that mattered was her family and soccer. But as soon as a little thing called puberty hit, Hitsugaya Toshiro found himself noticing  _many_ different things about his friend that weren't there before.

Besides the, ahem,  _obvious_ changes, it came to a surprise to him that Karin suddenly became more interested in what she looked like. Gone were the tomboyish clothes; in their place appeared sporty, yet undeniably feminine pieces. Her hair, once chopped off to a no-nonsense length, steadily grew until it ran down her back. But the most surprising change was the color of her hair.

It began easily enough. A simple violet streak appeared when she was thirteen, cutting through ebony locks with a burst of color. Hitsugaya was befuddled. "Why?" he asked seriously.

Karin had merely shrugged. "'Cause it's fun."

But the fun didn't stop there—when she was fourteen, the violet took over her entire head. "I tell strangers that it's natural," she confided, snickering. "And that I'm from an anime family. I think seeing me and Ichi-nii together confuses them."

Unfortunately for Karin (and fortunately for everyone else), her school wouldn't allow the absurd color. So when the purple was out, other "natural" colors took its place.

Between the ages of fifteen and eighteen, Karin's hair went through blond, red, brown, and everything in between. She even tried out her siblings' shades. Yuzu's honeyed color softened her features and made the two girls, for the first time,actually look like twins. And Ichigo's…Toshiro couldn't help but smile whenever he looked at the picture she sent him, orange-haired and playfully scowling, and looking like the genderbent version of her cranky brother.

Every time Hitsugaya visited, she looked different, and she fell into the habit of texting him a picture of her new color if he wasn't around to see it. But when she was nineteen, he visited her college dorm room and was completely stunned by the sight of her.

Her hair was black—not the muted, bottled kind, but the flowing ebony that made him think of the night sky.

"What?" she mumbled, unnerved by his stare.

"Nothing." He shook himself out of his stupor. "It's just been so long since I've seen your hair like that."

She crossed her arms. "It needed a break from the chemicals." Her lips inched down. "Stop looking at me like I'm a mythical creature."

Sometimes he felt like she was, lithe and beautiful and fleeting. But he didn't tell her so, instead saying, "Maybe if you didn't change your hair so much…"

Karin threw a pillow at him, which he easily dodged. "You have some nerve!"

A snowy eyebrow raised in question.

She rolled her eyes. "Your hair is white," she said slowly and obviously. "I know you're pushing eighty and all, but that just isn't normal. Normal people aren't born with white hair."

If he had been thinking clearly, he would have pointed out that her brother had _orange_  hair and that he wasn't exactly human anyway, but he was too stunned by her accusations to tell her so. Instead, he gaped, aghast and mildly offended. "I don't  _dye my hair!_ "

Karin set her jaw stubbornly. "Prove it then."

There was a beat of awkward silence as her words registered. Karin flushed, embarrassed.

Hitsugaya sputtered. "I-I can't. There's only one way, and you won't like it—"

The look she was giving him stopped him mid-sentence. Though her face was still red, her eyes held a steely challenge. "Prove it," she repeated, slowly and deliberately.

She knew what she was asking for.

And so, not one to back down from a challenge, Hitsugaya Toshiro proved it to her.

Thoroughly.

_Ahem._

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bow chicka wow wow.


	16. Prompt: Professional Soccer Game

She wasn't sure how to thank Rukia-nee, but Karin knew she had to try.

As she openly stared at the sweaty, bare-chested,  _glorious_  specimen before her—Hitsugaya Toshiro _,_ her favorite soccer player of _all time_ —all Karin could do was inwardly bless the fact that her brother's girlfriend was rich and had enough connections to get her into the locker room of the Karakura Lions.

Piercing aquamarine eyes looked at her curiously; she had to remind herself not to drool.  _Act like a normal person, Karin. If you fangirl, you'll scare him._

"Nice game," she said, excited when her voice sounded normal and not stalkerish at all.

"Thanks." He slung a towel around his neck, ready for a shower, but still had on his shorts and cleats. The rest of the team was starting to strip as well, ready to wash off the dirt and grime.

A men's locker room was nowhere for a lady to be, but as Madarame Ikkaku walked by, naked as the day he was born, Karin couldn't help but notice that this was the perfect place for  _her_ to be.

Hitsugaya sighed, embarrassed on Karin's behalf. "I'm sorry. We didn't know we would have visitors." He ruffled his snowy hair. "Is there anything I can help you with?"

Sexy  _and_ polite. Yes, Number Ten was a keeper. "Well, I wanted to see if you would sign this jersey for me." She swallowed. "But I can see you're busy."

"No, it's fine." He was staring at her, eyebrows furrowed as he signed the jersey with her proffered Sharpie. "Have we met before? You look familiar."

Suddenly feeling self-conscious, she twirled the end of her ponytail around a finger. "I've been to a bunch of your games with my friend Rukia, but no, we've never met."

He nodded in recognition. "Ah, Kuchiki. I think I must have seen you in a picture or something."

"Picture?" she parroted faintly.

"The Kuchikis own this team." He held out the jersey, pausing. "I'm not stalking you, I swear."

A grin overtook her face as she reached for it, her fingers lightly touching his. He smelled like the outdoors—grass, sweat, and sunshine—and she just wanted to inhale him in.

Number Nine, Hisagi Shuuhei, walked by, ruffling Hitsugaya's hair playfully. "Who's this? Your new girlfriend?"

Hitsugaya brushed him off, cool annoyance radiating from him. "She's not—"

"Yet," Karin interjected smoothly, deftly writing her number on the left-forward's arm. She hoped he would copy it down somewhere before showering, but she too hyped on her own forwardness to care. She winked. "I should get going. Thanks for the autograph."

Hitsugaya only looked at her, slack-jawed.


	17. Prompt: Morning Routine

"What's the matter with you," Karin groaned, sitting up in bed crossly. Long black hair billowed around her like a cloud, and Toshiro couldn't help pausing his frantic dressing to take in the sight. As much as she didn't like to hear it, Kurosaki Karin with bedhead was adorable. "It's too early for you to be scurrying around."

"I'm late," Hitsugaya replied shortly, shuffling into his hakama.

"You can never be late," his girlfriend retorted. "You're a captain. You make your own hours."

"And I had planned to be in the office an hour ago."

"The sun isn't even up yet," Karin said, exasperated.

"It is. It's just cloudy today."

"If you can't see the sun, it's not morning." She grinned, patting the ruffled covers next to her temptingly. "There's no reason to be out of bed."

Hitsugaya sighed, and shook his head. What he wouldn't give to spend the day with Karin, lounging in bed. But… "I can't. Matsumoto's coming back from the living world today, and we're going to have a lot of reports to fill out." He paused. "Shouldn't you be getting out of bed too?"

Karin waved a hand. "Zaraki-taicho doesn't really care. Everyone's probably still hungover from last night anyway."

Toshiro rolled his eyes, making his way into their attached bathroom. Ruffling down his own bedhead, he began to furiously brush his teeth, intent on leaving before he convinced himself not to. When he saw Karin's form appear behind him in the mirror, he raised an eyebrow in question.

"I guess I'll get ready too," she supplied with a sigh. Then, so slowly he knew it was deliberate, she lifted the oversized shirt she slept in over her head, gradually revealing the fact that she wore nothing underneath.

Hitsugaya stared, mouth foamy from toothpaste. Karin merely dropped her lone article of clothing on the floor, eyes glinting mischievously. Then, with a smirk, she stepped into the shower.

For a few seconds, he listened as the water hit the tiles, knowing he had lost.

But, he reasoned with himself as he rinsed his mouth and deftly stepped out of his hakama, he really  _did_ need to shower.


	18. Prompt: Three Sentence Fic

With his element, she thought that his touch would be cold, but it is just the opposite. It burns everywhere his lips pass—her neck, her navel, her thighs—and she welcomes the flames, her mouth desperate to ignite them in him just as strongly. They are both sadists and masochists for each other, and she thinks the reason that they fit oh-so-perfectly is that they both can take the heat.


	19. Prompt: Cute Family

"Mama?" her little girl says, and from her tone, Karin can tell it’s going to be one of those conversations. She is just shy of four years old, and is therefore bright-eyed and full of  _why_ s and  _how come_ s. “Mama, how come Papa is the one who always cooks?”

Her husband snorts as he sets their dinner on the table. Karin glares at him, not amused. “Because, honey, Papa looks better in an apron than me.”

Toshiro snorts again, but she ignores him. Her daughter looks at her with big amber eyes, ones that neither of her parents anticipated but both deeply appreciate. “But Taro says that mommies are supposed to cook.”

"Taro?" That little shit from shinigami daycare? She knew it was a bad idea sending her children to that place. Filling their heads with nonsense. "Taro doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Not all mommies cook."

She frowns, an expression that’s adorable and makes Karin see glimpses of her brother on her daughter’s tiny face. “But why?”

The woman pauses as her son squawks from her lap, fussy and hungry. He is the splitting image of his father—blue blue eyes and snowy hair and all—another thing she and Toshiro hadn’t expected. Genetics are a beautiful, unpredictable thing.

"But why, Mama?"

Toshiro scoops up their son and puts him in his high chair. Karin hands him the small plate of finger foods, and he smiles slightly in thanks.

“ _Mama!_ ”

"Because," Karin says quickly. Her daughter hates to be ignored. "Some mommies wear the pants in the relationship."

Toshiro rolls his eyes. Karin pokes him in the side when he walks by.

Their daughter, her face an open book, is confused. “But Papa wears pants too!” she says obviously.

Karin leans over the table conspiratorially. “Some mommies are sick of living in a patriarchal society and being forced to conform to gender norms.”

The little girl just blinks at that. Toshiro sighs, using oven-mitted hands to place the last dish on the table. “Honey, Mama doesn’t cook because she almost burned our house down last time, remember? Now eat your peas.”

"Okay!" she says happily, her question finally clearly answered.

Karin scoffs, betrayed by her other half. “Rude!” But when her husband passes her one last time on his way to his chair, she can’t help but give his backside a firm grope.

The look he shoots her clearly says  _Not in front of the kids._  But Karin just grins mischievously back.

"Nope, I’m pretty sure it’s because of the apron."


	20. Prompt: Link

**I. Strangers**

A ball rolls to a stop at his feet. He glances up from his phone and sees a girl barreling towards him.  _Be more careful_ , he says distractedly, kicking the ball in her direction and leaving before she can answer him.

**II. Acquaintances**

He looks at her, the girl with so much pent up energy that she springs a little on the balls of her feet as she smiles at him.  _Won’t you play with us? We could really use you._  It’s childish, what she’s asking of him, and stupid to boot. But he looks at her, the girl who, for some reason, he can’t seem to stop looking at, and says vaguely,  _Who knows._

**III. Kurosaki’s sister**

_My brother_ , she asks, jaw locked in determination.  _Is he okay?_  For a moment he’s frozen with shock, baffled that this random girl he thought he would never see again is actually Kurosaki Ichigo’s sister. But then the moment passes, and he knows he will be seeing a lot more of her, will be keeping an eye on her, because he owes Ichigo that much at least.

**IV. Friends**

It comes to him as a surprise, but he finds himself enjoying her company. She’s stubborn and sarcastic and kind of crass, but she is also funny and determined and considerate. For a reason unknown to him, he seeks her out whenever he’s in Karakura, and she’s always genuinely happy to see him. She spends time with him of her own free will and with no hidden agendas, and he finds that incredibly refreshing.

**V. Taicho’s daughter**

He can’t believe he didn’t see it before, in her stubborn nature, in the slope of her jaw. Now that he know what he’s looking for, his taicho is stamped all over her.  _You’re welcome to any of my future daughters,_  Kurosaki-taicho used to tease with a wink.  _Or sons. That’s okay too._  He would merely roll his eyes at his captain’s eccentric ways and focus on completing the paperwork on time. Now, however, as Kurosaki-taicho’s actual daughter snores on his office couch, he can’t help but feel like the universe is infinitely smaller. _  
_

**VI. Matsumoto’s friend**

He should have seen it coming. As quickly as she had managed to work her way into his life, his fukutaicho truly didn’t stand a chance.  _Matsumoto_ , he growls into his neverending pile of paperwork,  _who are you talking to?_  The blonde doesn’t look up from her phone, type-typing away.  _Karin-chan. She says she’ll visit next week._ Another day of a teenage girl occupying the office couch, distracting him and Matsumoto both. He sighs, then marks his calendar.

**VII. Love Interest**

He would be lying if he said he had never noticed her attractiveness. Her features were striking—dark hair and dark eyes on creamy, pale skin. Even when he met her, when she was no more than a ten year old tomboy, the fire in her eyes foretold the beauty she would become. But recognizing fact and understanding why his stomach flutters when she laughs—and why he fills with pride when he is the one who causes it—are two different things.

**VIII. Confidante**

_She’ll be okay_ , she says confidently.  _Just give her a little time. She loved him, and you can’t just turn that off when you want to_. It’s the same thing he’s said to himself over and over, but somehow hearing it from her has made him more relieved. Talking about Hinamori is something he has trouble with, even with Matsumoto, but somehow he feels no anxiety voicing his thoughts with _her_. 

**IX. Lover**

_Are you sure?_  he asks, and the incredulous look she shoots back makes his heart swell. She traps his slim hips between her thighs in answer and whispers sweet nothings against the shell of his ear.

**X. Soulmate**

He has never believed in the concept of soulmates. Frankly, the idea that fate has destined two people to be together forever is absurd. But when she slips her fingers between his, he marvels at all the ways they are linked, and finds it hard to see them as coincidences.


	21. Prompt: Tape

She should have known leaving her father and her maybe-sorta-not-quite boyfriend alone in the same room was a terrible idea. She really didn't know what she could have  _possibly_  been thinking.

Isshin was babbling about how adorable and perfect she was, but Karin could only gape at the television in mortification.

Ichigo popped up behind her, leaning on the doorframe. "Aw, I remember that," he smirked, ruffling her hair. "You used to be so cute. I wonder what happened."

Karin didn't even have the energy to sock him where it hurt like she usually would. There were more pressing matters at hand, like how Hitsugaya Toshiro was watching her three-year-old self sing nursery rhymes and prance around in a tutu. A  _tutu._

Without a word, Karin stalked to the source of her shame and smashed the eject button on the VCR. Her childish voice ended abruptly.

"Aww, Karin-chan!" Yuzu pouted. The traitor wouldn't be so happy to watch home videos if  _her_  potential love interest was nibbling on popcorn in their living room.

Crocodile tears sprang from Isshin's eyes. "Why must you ruin the fun?"

"It's not fun!" she snapped in response. "It's embarrassing!"

Hitsugaya reached for her hand, and though she stiffened at the touch, she didn't pull away. Karin had a hard time meeting his eyes, as she could see the laughter in them. "I think it's adorable."

"Shut up," she muttered, allowing him to lead her to the seat next to him on the couch. Her face flamed, though no longer merely from embarrassment.

His mouth turned up the tiniest bit at the corners, and when she finally braved a look at his eyes, she found them to be warm. "No, really. I think it's great that you were able to document your childhood. You were a really cute child. Yuzu too."

Yuzu beamed. "Thank you, Toshiro-kun!"

"Thanks," Karin obliged distractedly, realizing that  _he was still holding her hand_ and oh god was she breathing did she forget how what if she passed out  _she would never live it down_. "But no more videotapes."

"Fine," Isshin sniffled dramatically. "But what about…this!" He pulled a photo album out of nowhere, opened to a specific photo for them all to view. Ichigo, young and grinning and naked as the day he was born. Karin and Yuzu, just as naked, giggling and splashing the bathwater everywhere in a way only toddlers could.

Isshin winked. "Rub a dub dub!"

Ichigo launched himself across the room, but Isshin merely sidestepped him, moving the photo album out of his reach. "Give me that!" he snarled, chasing his father out of the room and knocking a lamp over in the process.

Yuzu covered her rapidly reddening face with both hands. "Oh my."

Karin sat unnervingly still, pondering why the universe hated her and attempting to diffuse through the couch and into the the earth.

Hitsugaya stifled a snort. "Still cute," he said, bumping her shoulder with his and giving her hand a light squeeze.

She merely closed her eyes and groaned.

 


	22. Prompt: Ornament

"You know," Karin says, shaking her head in disbelief. "I really don't understand the point in all that."

They're sitting on the couch in her apartment, marathoning their favorite crime show, all cozied up—her legs are tucked under her, head resting on his shoulder, and his arm is wrapped around her comfortably, thumb periodically rubbing little circles into her shoulder. But when yet another jewelry commercial comes on, basically implying that women are completely materialistic and the way back into their good graces (and panties) is a fat ol' diamond, Karin can no longer keep silent.

Her boyfriend frowns. "What do you mean?"

"Why make a big deal over that stuff? It's not like you can do anything with it. Why does society put such value on such ornamental things? They cost you an arm and a leg, and then what? Every time I wear it I have to make sure not to lose it or get robbed, or there goes your thousands of dollars. And that's not even mentioning all the African children slaving away just so I can flaunt my wealth and  _prove_  to everyone that you love me—-are you okay?"

The longer she rants, the paler Toshiro becomes. He swallows, his adam's apple bobbing visibly. "Fine. So you're saying you don't like jewelry?"

Karin shrugs, scooting her feet out from under her and standing. "It's not the jewelry that bothers me. It's the vapid, materialistic messages attached to it. That because you gave me expensive jewelry, you  _must_  love me, and my legs  _must_  spring open. I find it all ridiculous and unrealistic." She picks up her empty Sapporo can from the coffee table and idly shakes it. "I'm gonna get another one. You want one?"

"No," he responds, his voice tight.

Karin frowns at how strange he's acting, but makes her way to her small kitchen without further questioning. It's as she's staring into her refrigerator that she ponders Toshiro's odd behavior. How does something as stupid as a jewelry commercial result in a battle-hardened shinigami captain looking ready to pass out? Maybe the fish they had for dinner was bad? Could his gigai even  _get_  food poisoning?

The raven-haired woman shakes her head, dispelling her thoughts, grabs her beer, and heads back to her living room. At the doorframe, a hushed voice stops her in her tracks.

"—I don't think this is a good idea. She seemed to really hate—" A pause. "But you didn't hear what she said! And now that I think about it, I've never seen her wear any—"

The floor creaks when she shifts her weight. Hitsugaya stuffs his phone into his pocket faster than she can blink.

"Who was that?" she asks, leaning against the doorframe.

"N-No one." He coughs, and his voice returns closer to his normal register. "Just checking in on the office."

Karin crosses her arms, an eyebrow raised. Hitsugaya doesn't budge. "You bought me some jewelry, didn't you?" she sighs.

He flinches slightly. "Maybe."

She can't help but smile at his reluctance. "Well then, let me see."

Teal eyes return to the television, where their show has come back from its scheduled break. "I'm taking it back."

Karin walks in front of him, blocking his view. "What, do you think I'd shit all over your gift?" she scoffs. "You know me better than that. I'm not an asshole, and I know your heart was in the right place. Let me see it."

"No."

"C'mon, don't be like that!"

She tackles him, and he tries unsuccessfully to halt her roaming hands.

"You've made it very clear that this isn't your thing."

"That doesn't mean I don't wanna see it!"

"Karin, you're making me miss the show!"

"It's a rerun! Come  _on_ , Toshiro!"

And then there it is, so close to her face that her eyes struggle to focus on it. Her mouth drops open, and she looks into his face. "That's an engagement ring."

"I'm aware," he answers smartly, his previously ashen face now bright red. "And I know what it's for."

And then she's struck dumb, staring at the simple band with the tasteful diamond that he's holding limply between his fingers.

Toshiro shifts beneath her, uncomfortable with her silence. "I just figured—you know, since we've been together so long and I can't see myself with anyone else—but you don't have to feel obligated to wear it, I'll take it back—"

"Shut up," she manages to breathe, eyes wide with disbelief. She feels like she's dreaming, as if she's looking at him through a haze. "This isn't a ring," she informs him, covering his hand with hers, "This is a promise."

She looks at him pointedly, and he scoffs, embarrassed. She can feel his heart race through his chest, its speed rivaling her own. But his eyes are steady; he is completely serious.

Karin can't stop the smile from creeping onto her face. "Then of course I'll wear it," she says softly, holding her hand out expectantly.

She feels the  _whoosh_  as Toshiro exhales, feels his body go lax with relief as he slides the ring onto her finger. "Of course," she breathes against his chest, onto his lips, into his mouth. " _Of course_."

His arms wind around her, and when he sees the ring glittering prettily on her hand, he smirks. "I thought you said those commercials were unrealistic."

She smacks him lightly on the head, then kisses him again. He tastes vaguely of beer and victory. "Shut up. Do you want to get laid or not?"

Wisely, Hitsugaya Toshiro shuts up.


	23. Prompt: Rusty/Coconut/Swap

**Rusty**

The look she gave him was clearly baffled, a little scared, and he felt his stomach constrict painfully in response.

He knew he shouldn't have asked her out. Why would he  _ever_  think this was a good idea? Risking their friendship just because sometimes she made his heart pound and palms sweaty?

"Nevermind," he said hastily, embarrassment oozing out of every pore. He was so  _stupid_. Karin didn't think of him that way, and he didn't know why he thought she would, but now she knew that  _he_ thought of  _her_  that way and they wouldn't be able to look at each other without it being weird.

"No," she interrupted, eyes still impossibly wide. "I'd love to go to dinner with you."

He stopped breathing. "Wait, really?"

She nodded, smiling in a way he could only describe as shy. It was strange, because he had never seen Kurosaki Karin act  _shy_  before.

"But you didn't  _look_  like you'd love to go to dinner with me when I asked you."

She rolled her eyes, and the Karin that he was used to was back. "You didn't  _ask_ me, Toshiro. You yelled it at me. How do you expect me to react when you suddenly start screaming about dinner?"

Did he seriously shout his dinner invitation at her? Was he that nervous? Well, now he was mortified.

Karin laughed at his humiliated expression. "When was the last time you asked a girl out?"

He scowled at her teasing. "Couple decades ago," he mumbled.

"Somebody's a little rusty," she snickered, poking him in the side. "It's cute."

Slowly, his muscles started to relax. He hadn't scared her off. She was ready to take their friendship to another level.

"Hey,  ** _HOW ABOUT PIZZA?!_** "

The volume of her voice startled him, and that only made Karin start laughing again.

He might never live this down.

**Coconut**

"How do you know you won't like it?" she asked, exasperated. She waved her smoothie at him in a manner she hoped was enticing. "You haven't even  _tried_  it!"

"And I don't want to," Hitsugaya replied, nonchalant. "My watermelon one is just fine."

Karin scoffed. "But you always get watermelon  _everything_. Don't you want to try something new? A little more tropical?"

"No," he said bluntly.

Karin rolled her eyes, taking a sip of her refreshing, thirst-quenching,  _delicious_  drink and making loud, exaggerated sounds indicating her pleasure. In response, Toshiro took a long drag on his own straw, teal eyes holding hers in challenge.

For a second, Karin's mouth was downturned in annoyance. But then the grin she gave him nearly split her face.

Unexpectedly, she leaned over and pressed her lips to his. He froze in shock, eyes wide.

When she pulled back, her cheeks were swollen with color, but her grin was still there. "Good, right?"

For a few seconds, he could only gape at her, the sweet taste of coconut lingering on his lips. Then, he swallowed. "I don't know. I'd have to try it again."

Karin smirked. She leaned in.

**Swap**

The intensity in which she was scrutinizing his gigai was a bit off-putting, and he cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Are you done?"

His girlfriend at least had the grace to look sheepish. "Sorry. It's just weird to see you looking so much…older."

"Well,  _you're_  getting older," Toshiro pointed out. "I asked Urahara to swap to an older-looking gigai because it would look strange for you to be dating a little kid."

Karin snorted. "Hey, you're the pedophile, not me." He bristled at that, but she merely went up on her tiptoes and planted a light apology on his lips. "This is  _really_  weird. You've never been taller than me before."

Toshiro sighed. "Did you want to go to that movie or not?"

Still, she frowned. "Is that mole on your ass still there?" Karin asked curiously. Not-so-subtly, her gaze drifted to the crotch of his pants.

"Let's go," he huffed, grabbing her by the hand before she decided to see if anything  _else_  was different.


	24. Prompt: Ribbons and Lace

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's Hitsukarin Week again! Wow, I gotta say I didn't know I'd keep this collection going long enough for two shipping weeks to pass. But having a place to dump random otp things is fun, so here's to another year!

When she picks up another dress, Hitsugaya raises an eyebrow.

" _Don't_ say it," Karin warns, holding the dress an arms-length away so she can study it. It's frilly, almost disgustingly so, with little pink bows to match the lacy pink material. _  
_

But Toshiro finds it hard stay completely silent. "You do realize that you wouldn't be caught dead wearing anything like this when you were younger?"

"I'm aware," she snips, placing the dress into their basket.

"So then why would you force our daughter into something you would have hated? She's too young to talk, Karin. She can't defend herself."

"Because," Karin responds hotly, lifting their child out of her stroller. The baby yawns, big blue eyes looking at them curiously. She has sandy-brown hair and fucking dimples, for Kami's sake. "Our offspring is  _adorable_."

And she looks too stinkin' cute in her poofy dresses, her tiny Mary Janes, her headbands, and anything in floral print. It has to be a crime to not take advantage of that.

"Besides," Karin continues, placing a floppy sunhat on the baby's head. "Half that stuff in her closet is stuff  _you_  bought her. You're just as bad as me, mister! But I don't take nearly as many pictures."

He pauses mid-picture, his phone focused on her little cherub face under that giant hat. His wife has a point. "She's going to hate us," he sighs.

"Maybe." The baby blows a bubble, and both parents smile. Karin pecks Toshiro on the lips. "But let's enjoy it while we can."


	25. Prompt: Sunrise and Sunset

He awakes just enough before the sun to be able to see it reflected off her skin, bursts of light freckling her through the blinds. It's so beautiful,  _she's_  so beautiful, that he has the urge to kiss each spot the sun appears, and because he knows he won't get this chance again, he does.

He starts at her hairline, brushing his lips over her nose, her cheekbones, and dipping into the hollow of her neck.

He knows she's awake when her breathing is no longer even. Still, he continues his journey, planting a kiss on the underside of her breast, on each of her ribs, and into the dip of her belly button, before backtracking a little and feeling her heartbeat flutter against his lips.

She lifts a hand, so he kisses that too, making sure to give each knuckle, each fingertip his attention. But then she grabs him by the nape of his neck, buries her fingers in his hair, and guides his lips to her own. And when tears trek down her face, he kisses those too.

~.~.~

She isn't sad. She's angry. She's fucking  _pissed off_.

She's livid that despite  _everything_  her family has done for it, Soul Society can't find itself able to look the other way. Not for her. Not even for Ichigo.

Because of a stupid, outdated law, she lies in bed, trying to sear everything into her memory. Twenty years from now, she wants to be able to recall the exact shade of blue his eyes are. She wants to remember how he looks first thing in the morning, speckled with the first rays of sunlight, hair mussed from sleep. She wants to be able to draw up the feeling of his cool skin on hers, the tranquility of his reiatsu ebbing over her.

She's  _furious_ , and the only thing she can do about it is cry furious tears.

She hooks a leg around his narrow waist and pulls him flush against her. He complies, chest hard against hers, fitting so perfectly between her legs that there's no doubt in her mind that that's where he's always supposed to be.

~.~.~

They spend the entire day in bed. Vaguely, she wonders if maybe they should go outside, maybe get something to eat, but she reasons that this is it, this is the only day that is theirs, the last day that  _could_  be theirs, and she doesn't want to share him, not even with passersby.

The universe owes her that much, at least.

They pass the time remembering—with eyes, hands, tongues. She covers his collarbone with lovebites, mementos, and he whispers lies into her ear, beautiful beautiful lies, tells her that it won't be that bad and it'll be easy to move on and they'll see each other soon enough.

And then it's evening, and the room is dark. He can see the light underneath the door, and thinks of how deceivingly beautiful the sunset is. Sunsets used to make him think of her fondly, but now he knows they are forever tainted by the burning behind his eyes and her shaking hands and the haunted look on her face as she gazes at him through the shadows.

Their time is up.


	26. Prompt: AU

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a head's up that this prompt turned out super dark and is possibly triggering for some people. That being said, I actually like it!

"Hitsugaya-san?"

He tries to focus on the sound of her voice, the floating, blurred image that is her face. His tongue feels heavy in his mouth, and he clacks it experimentally a few times.

"Hitsugaya-san? It's Rangiku. Remember me? Hitsugaya-san, they had to sedate you."

He wishes she would stop saying his name so fucking much. He can hear her perfectly fine.

The busty nurse's face slowly comes into focus. She's smiling at him, though Toshiro can see the pity in her eyes. "The first night's always the hardest, Hitsugaya-san. It'll get better."

Like she would know. She gets to go home every night. She isn't stuck in this hellhole. He sits up in his cot, the effects of whatever they gave them slowly disappearing. The disgustingly strong smell of sterility makes him nauseous. "Don't call me that."

The nurse's smile falters, and she glances quickly at his chart. "Oh! I'm sorry, Taicho."

He says nothing, merely resists the urge to squint against all of the whiteness.

The nurse—Rangiku, she said—holds a tiny plastic cup out to him that rattles when she shakes it. More medication. Of course.

He eyes her cooly, refusing to take it. He would not willingly go along with his poisoning. There is nothing wrong with him.

"Taicho, just take them," Rangiku says, sighing in exasperation. "You don't want a repeat of last night, do you?" Flashes of fear, of being prodded with multiple needles as he clawed against his restraints. "Besides, if you don't take your medicine, you can't join the others. Do you really want to sit here by yourself?"

He looks around the tiny room. Tiny barred window, bed, white walls, white floor, white white. He takes the cup from her, slides the poison onto his tongue. Allows Rangiku to check his mouth and make sure he swallowed.

"Great!" she exclaims, smiling at him again. He wonders how such a nice, bubbly person ended up in a place like this. "Let's go meet the others."

**~.~.~**

"Everyone has already taken their medication, like you," Rangiku chirps as she leads him down a few hallways. "Still, try not to make any sudden movements. Don't want to startle anyone."

He wants to scream, wants to pound his fists on something in frustration.  _This_  was the deal his lawyer had gotten him? Being dropped in with the fucking loonies?  _For a crime he didn't even commit._  He would have rather gone to jail.

"Here we go!" the nurse says cheerily, opening a door. He is immediately hit with the smell of food and bleach. "Behave, or I'll have to come and get you. After breakfast, someone will take you to talk to your doctor."

And then she is gone, and he's left in a strange cafeteria with strange people who happen to be insane.

The guard at the door points him towards a line, and he doesn't bother protesting, just gets in it. He pretends not to notice that the guy in front of him is muttering agitatedly to himself. Toshiro merely accepts his breakfast from a lady in a hairnet and minds his own damn business.

He heads toward the most empty table, occupied only by a dark-haired girl boredly stirring her oatmeal, and sits down with a few seats between them.

But the girl looks at him, pointedly curious, and slides her tray over until it touches his. "I haven't seen you around here before," she says, closing the remaining distance between them.

He thinks about ignoring her, not wanting to fraternize with lunatics. But as he looks at her—jet black hair, cropped reasonably at the shoulders; large onyx eyes; the same baggy outfit he and all patients wore, but with long sleeves—he wonders what could possibly be wrong with her. "Do you know everyone here?"

"Pretty much." She smiles, and it brightens up her face significantly. "I've been here a  _long_  time."

She says it so matter-of-factly that his spoon pauses on its way to his mouth. He wonders if it's rude to ask just how long.

"So." Her own spoon scrapes the bottom of the bowl, signaling the end of her oatmeal. "What are you in for?"

He blinks in surprise.

The girl takes his silence for confusion. "Why'd they put you in the looney bin?" she clarifies.

"Why are  _you_  here?" he counters.

She shrugs. "I supposedly see delusions. Hear voices."

He shifts uncomfortably. "…and do these voices talk to you?"

"What else would voices do?" she snorts.

He can't help the tugging of his lips. It really was a dumb question. "Supposedly," he says quietly. Cautiously. "Supposedly, I killed my grandmother."

Her smile fades, face turning serious. She tilts her head. "Well, did you?"

He stares into his bowl, into the lumpy mess he is expected to eat. He is no longer hungry. "Not intentionally."

He doesn't see her reaction—doesn't dare to look up. But he hears her stand.

"I definitely hear voices," she whispers into his ear, her breath quick and hot.

His eyes snap to her then, but she's already picking up her tray. "I'm Karin, by the way."

"Toshiro," he tells her retreating back, and just when he thinks she didn't hear him, she looks over her shoulder and smiles.

**~.~.~**

His therapist is a curvy woman with purple hair and golden eyes that are strangely kind. He can tell she's working up to asking him about the accident, and it irritates him, though he knows she's only trying to do her job. She has to ask him these questions, and legally he has to be here, but he doesn't have to answer shit.

"How are you feeling today, Toshiro?"

"Fine."

She readjusts her cateye spectacles. "Is there anything you want to talk about?"

"No."

**~.~.~**

"I hear you got Yoruichi," she says, dropping down onto the couch next to him. "Lucky."

It's the free period after dinner and before they're all locked back up, and he is watching but not really watching the children's show one of the nurses turned the small television to. He wants to change the channel, but patients are apparently not allowed remote control rights.

Really, he just wants to be left alone so that he can reflect on how pathetic his life is. But while the other patients don't seem to care about him one way or another, Karin is inexplicably interested in him. She sat next to him in group therapy, plucked fries off of his plate at dinner. And now, when he just wants to watch cartoon animals and feel sorry for himself, she lifts her feet into his lap as if it is the most natural thing in the world.

And he finds he doesn't mind.

"I have Urahara," she informs him, opening a book. "He's much crazier than I supposedly am. I should be  _his_  therapist." She smirks, eyes glittering. "Our therapists are fucking, you know. Worst kept secret of the place."

"No touching," one of the guards says in a bored voice.

She rolls her eyes, then slowly slips her feet to the floor.

**~.~.~**

"Karin-chan?" Rangiku smiles, but it is definitely sad. "She's been here since she was a child."

"Why?" he asks, taking the plastic cup from her without a fight.

The blonde hesitates, but seems to see no harm in telling him. Karin's past is common knowledge. "While she was away at soccer camp, her house caught fire, and her whole family died. She hasn't moved past that."

He swallows the pills and lifts his tongue without having to be asked.

**~.~.~**

"Do you understand that  _Bleach_  is a videogame?"

He stares resolutely at a stain in the carpet. He wonders what made it—if Shihoin-sensei spilled coffee and never noticed, or if a pen exploded. Maybe it was left by another patient, one who wanted something to distract themselves from lies.

"You aren't a shinigami captain, Toshiro," she says evenly. "Soul Society does not exist."

"To you, maybe," he mutters, "Since you abandoned it." He wants to suck the words back into his mouth. Silence is the best answer to her psychoanalytical bullshit.

This seems to catch the therapist off-guard, and she taps her pen against her notepad, interested. "I haven't abandoned anything, Toshiro. It's not real. I don't have any powers, and neither do you." She pauses. "You understand how your grandmother died, don't you?"

He sees her then, skin tinged an unnatural blue, and so so cold—

"She was smothered, Toshiro."

He doesn't say anything, just focuses on the stain. What could have possibly made it?

Yoruichi sighs, rubs her temples. Flips a little through his chart and changes tactics. "How often did you play the videogame? Did your foster sister play with you?"

He flinches, and he hates himself for it.

"Toshiro?"

His teeth lock together, and he doesn't look up again until the session is over.

**~.~.~**

"I didn't mean to do it," he admits softly. They've been allowed outside, and he and Karin sit on a bench, watching the sun filter through the trees. "I couldn't control my reiatsu. I didn't mean to freeze her to death. I kept telling people, but no one would believe me."

Their hands are hidden between them, Karin's thumb rubbing idle circles over his knuckles. "No one ever listens." She sighs. "They keep trying to tell me my family's dead. Mother, father, brother, twin sister. Dead. But how can they be dead when I hear them everyday, when I  _see_  them?" She pauses, inclining her head towards him. "Maybe they  _are_  dead. Maybe they went to Soul Society, but they visit me. And no one else can see spirits like we can, so they slapped a 'crazy' title on my forehead." **  
**

He's overwhelmed by emotion then, is overjoyed at finally being  _believed_  and not dismissed. He leans over and kisses her, and she doesn't hesitate to kiss him back, all tongue and teeth.

"No touching!" a guard barks from across the yard.

She retracts her lips, but rests her forehead against his for a moment. They breathe each other in.

They separate.

**~.~.~**

He is laying in bed, staring at the ceiling and waiting for his medication to throw him into a dreamless sleep, when the door to his room slowly opens. It is after hours, and no one should be entering his room until the next morning, so he truly relieved when he sees it's only her. "What are you doing here?" he hisses.

She grins, shuts the door behind her. Though she wears the same standard-issue outfit and her hair is mussed, she looks ethereal in what little moonlight his tiny window allows. "I just wanted to visit you."

"How did you get in here?" He scoots over, making room for her on his bed.

She gives him a sly look. "You forget I've been here a  _long_  time." She slides in beside him. "These doors are only locked from the inside, and the guy that's supposed to be watching the cameras is usually catching up on his soaps instead."

He's baffled. "But how did you get out of  _your_  room?"

She smiles against his neck. "Long time," she repeats in a whisper, and then suddenly her hand is going down down, fingers toying with the waistband of his pants.

He freezes, inhaling sharply as she wraps her hand around him.

_It'll be fun._

Spots start to swirl his vision, his heart pounding in his ears. He can't seem to get enough air.

_I know you like it, Shiro-chan. Doesn't it feel good?_

"Hey."

_Shhhhh_

"Hey!" And then suddenly her face is in front of him, slowly sliding into focus. Her grip is tight on his jaw, forcing him to focus on her eyes. "Hey, look at me. Breathe. Just breathe."

He does, shallowly. "I'm sorry."

"No, I am." She slides a hand through her hair, holds it there. "I thought you would like it. Are you okay?"

Her eyes are soft, concerned, and he is reminded for the hundredth time that she is not Momo.

"I'm fine," he whispers, reaching for her. His kiss surprises her, his intensity more so.

"Are you sure?" she mumbles against his tongue. "We don't have to…"

In response, he crushes her to him, removing all the space between them.

She smirks. "Let's try this again, then."

To his surprise, a trial lick along the length of him causes an involuntary buck of his hips.

No.

Not Momo at all.

**~.~.~**

It happens on a relatively quiet day.

He is watching another show intended for children. It's either that or watch the weather; those are apparently the only stations considered non-triggering. In his opinion, Karin has been in the bathroom for too long, so he heads to Rangiku, who is currently stuck on babysitting duty, and asks for a bathroom key.

She gives it to him with a smile, her attention quickly returning to her fashion magazine.

He heads down the small hallway where the bathrooms are, and passes the one marked "male". Instead, he quietly knocks on the door of its female counterpart. "Karin?" he whispers through the door. "Are you okay in there?"

When there is no answer, he easily turns the handle. Freezes.

She is sitting on the floor, squished in between the toilet and the sink, a faraway look on her face. After being constantly surrounded by white, he finds the red strangely welcome, alluring. It is on the tile floor, staining her shirt, her pants. It is running through her fingers, a scarlet trail.

They lock eyes. She smiles, and it takes his breath away.

"Hey!" Rangiku's voice, coming closer. "No hanky panky. Your bathroom is over there, mister—" And then she sees, and the words die in her throat. Rangiku yells, pushes him out of the way. Picks up the jagged remnants of the plastic spoon Karin used to slash her wrists to ribbons.

The nurse is crying, frantically grabbing paper towels and pressing them to Karin's wrists, trying to stop the bleeding. Her hands stain crimson. "No," she sobs. "You were getting better, Karin-chan. I thought you were getting better…"

More attendants rush down the hall, ordering Toshiro back to the recreation room. He is pushed back, and then later, someone locks him back into his cell.

**~.~.~**

That night, it is a male nurse that comes in to give him his medication.

"What happened to my nurse?" he asks.

The nurse frowns. "Ran decided to take a little vacation. I'll be attending you for a while."

He doesn't like this at all, but he dutifully swallows the pills so that the other man will go away.

**~.~.~**

Four days later, it is he who visits her.

Karin has been put on lockdown, considered a danger to herself and others, and has thus been confined to her room. So, he reasons, since she can't come out, he'll just have to go to her.

He sticks a wad of chewing gum in the lock, so that the door is unable to close all the way, and waits for the nurse to give him his meds and leave him be. After he slips past security—who, as Karin said, is too engrossed in his mini-television to notice him—he heads straight for her room, opening the door as quietly as possible.

She is in bed, and doesn't speak when he enters, merely scoots over. She's pale, bandaged up to the elbow, and has dark bags under her eyes. "Toshiro," she slurs, patting the spot next to her and wrapping her arms around him when he complies. Whatever medication she was on before, it's likely been doubled. "Missed you."

"I missed you too," he replies. He kisses her forehead, runs a hand over her hair. "Did you see them?"

"Of course!" She smiles into his neck, content. "That's when they visit me most."

His fingers run patterns over her shoulder. "What did they say?"

"What they always say," she breathes dreamily. "They want me to join them."

**~.~.~**

"I really don't think you should be seeing her, Toshiro."

He stares at that stain, feeling lighter than he had in a long time. He can feel how annoyed his therapist was getting, how anxious.

"I just feel that the relationship isn't healthy. It's toxic to your recovery, and to hers."

Who is  _she_ to judge anyway? Yoruichi is just as fucked up as he is, but more deluded about it. Ignoring her birthright, fleeing Soul Society, all so she can shack up with some other quack doctor and tell  _him_  how fucked up  _he_  is every day at ten o'clock.

Maybe he actually is really crazy. But he has Karin. And with company, the dissension into madness isn't so bad a journey.

"Toshiro."

He smiles at the carpet.

**~.~.~**

They eat, stealing glances at each other above their soup.

His hand snakes around, and his fingers lovingly trace the scars up her arms, some much older than others. She leans her head onto his shoulder.

"What part of  _no touching_  don't you understand!"

Their fingers interlock, lingering, before drifting away.


	27. Prompt: Base

"Kurosaki, I…"

She noticed the mood change, felt his determination building up, and swallowed, dread beginning to shoot through her veins. She hoped against hope.

"I-I like you!"

It was too late. The words were out there, and they couldn't be taken back.

She and Kazuo had built up a decent friendship over the past few months, and though she enjoyed it, she definitely wasn't looking for anything more than that. And, of course, telling him that outright would only serve to destroy their friendship—not to mention his feelings.

He looked at her expectantly. She had to say  _something_.

"I'm really flattered, Kazuo," she stalled, racking her brain for a decent excuse. "But I…I already have a boyfriend!" Hey, that one was pretty good!

Before she could even pat herself on the back for her quick thinking, her admirer frowned. "I've never seen him."

"That's because he goes to another school." She shifted uncomfortably. "I'm sorry, Kazuo. I'm flattered, but I'm already taken."

Disappointed, the boy bowed his head and left.

**~.~.~**

She expected her rumor to be passed around a little—after all, it wasn't everyday that Kurosaki Karin had a boyfriend, made-up as he was. But she had assumed that after a few whispers, the whole thing would die down.

What she hadn't expected was to get ambushed while reviewing her notes for the upcoming math quiz. She was leaning back in her chair, chewing her lip thoughtfully, when she suddenly found her desk surrounded by nearly all the girls in her class.

"Kurosaki!" one of them yelled excitedly, "why didn't you tell anyone about your boyfriend?"

Karin blinked. "I wasn't aware my personal life was everyone's business."

"Aww, don't be like that, Karin!"

"Tell us about him!"

"What's Hitsugaya-san like?"

Karin almost fell out of her chair. "W-What?!"

"Your boyfriend." They looked at her expectantly. "Hitsugaya-san?"

She could feel her face burst into flame, could pinpoint the moment her blood-pressure skyrocketed. "Where did you hear that name?"

"Kazuo asked Yuzu about your boyfriend," one of them said impatiently.

Karin stood, dazedly pushing people out of her way. "Excuse me."

**~.~.~**

"What the  _hell_ , Yu!"

She had made her way out into the hallway and made frantic hand gestures at Yuzu's classroom door window until her twin came out. But Yuzu only seemed perplexed at her urgency.

"He told me that you rejected him because you already had a boyfriend," the light-haired twin explained. "I assumed you were talking about Toshiro-kun. Was I wrong?"

" _Yes_ ," she hissed. "We're just friends. Completely platonic! I keep telling you—"

Yuzu smiled, one that clearly was saying more than her words, though Karin wasn't sure what. "Okay, I'm sorry. But Karin, it's not like people are going to meet him. What's the problem?"

And her tirade stopped mid-sentence at that. What  _was_  the problem? Yuzu was right. She could use Toshiro as a fill-in so she wouldn't sound like she was lying when she was bombarded with questions, and eventually everyone's curiosity would die down and she would be left alone.

Yuzu smirked, patting her arm. "Don't worry. I'll only tease you a little bit."

**~.~.~**

"Is he tall?"

Karin chuckled to herself. "No." Though the last time she saw him, he was a bit taller than her _._

It was lunch time, which meant she was again surrounded by her nosy female classmates. This time, though, she was more prepared.

"Does he takes you on romantic dates?"

She thought of them watching the sunset together, eating ice cream he had bought them. "Sometimes."

"What high school does he go to?" someone demands.

Karin doesn't fidget. "He graduated already." Which was technically true. It just wasn't  _high school_  that he graduated.

There was a collective murmur. "A university student?" "I can't believe Kurosaki has an older boyfriend!" " _Her_  of all people!"

Yes,  _her_. Eventually, they all left her alone, more interested in gossiping about Yumi's supposed pregnancy.

Karin sat there, smug, for the rest of the day.

**~.~.~**

At least, she was smug until, as she was gathering her things to go home, she felt familiar reiatsu.

_Oh no._

"Hey," someone called. "There's someone waiting at the school gates."

_What was he doing here?_

People were curiously looking out the window now. Karin began stuffing things into her backpack with unnatural speed.

"He has white hair." A gasp. "Oh my god, it's Kurosaki's boyfriend!"

_Shit shit SHIT_

"No it's not," Karin denied, an edge to her voice. "He's at school."

"Maybe he came to visit you!"

"You should go check!"

"I highly doubt it," Karin insisted. But it was no use—everyone was rushing to the door, hoping get a closer look at her "boyfriend".  _For fuck's sake!_

Of course, when she got there, it was indeed Hitsugaya Toshiro waiting for her at the school gate. As she got closer to him, she considered walking right by and not acknowledging him. But he was looking right at her, a confused look on his face.

"Ah!" Yuzu appeared at her side. "Toshiro-kun, it's nice to see you!"

Karin smacked her forehead, cursing her sister's terrible timing. The group of girls behind her tittered excitedly. "He's hot," someone mumbled.

"It's good to see you again," he greeted Yuzu, giving Karin a curious look.

"What are you doing here?" Karin demanded, betrayed.

He frowned. "I'm here to walk you home." More excited noise from the voyeurs. "I got some time off. Doesn't that movie you want to see come out today?"

"Yes," she replied, flustered. So flustered that she didn't realize he'd taken her backpack from her until she saw him slide it over his shoulder. The girls went wild.

"Is there a reason they're here?" he asked, eyes flashing annoyance.

"We're sorry," someone said, to Karin's horror. "We just wanted to see Karin's boyfriend."

Hitsugaya's eyebrows shot up to his hairline. "Boyf—"

"TIME TO GO!" Karin announced, hooking her arm through his and dragging him away. "We're going to miss our movie!"

He followed her without resistance, though everything about him betrayed his bafflement. Yuzu walked beside them, that same smile from before gracing her lips.

And Karin was so mortified, she couldn't look him in the eye. "So," she said instead, hoping to change the subject and never,  _ever_  go back to it. "How did you get Rangiku-san to cover for you?"

Luckily, he took the bait. But as she half-listened, arm still linked through his, she had to wonder if at its base, her willingness to portray him as her boyfriend was more than just a white lie.


	28. Prompt: Walk a mile in each other's shoes

"Just  _fix_  it," Hitsugaya growls, and Karin feels like she's having an out-of-body experience. She has never seen such a fierce look on her own face before.

"I can't," Urahara singsongs. Karin resists the urge to throttle him. "It'll go away on its own in a day or so."

"Can't you just..pop us out, and then pop us back in again?" she asks, the baritone of her voice a shock to her system. She clears her throat awkwardly.

"No can do." Urahara fans himself gleefully. "It was a prototype for a reason."

"I'm supposed to head back today," Toshiro says through gritted teeth.

The shopkeeper glances pointedly at Karin. "You mean  _he_ 's supposed to head back today."

**~.~.~**

Honestly, they have no one to blame but themselves. Free candy from Urahara has  _bad idea_  written all over it.

**~.~.~**

"You should be fine getting back," he says in  _her_  voice. "You're technically me, so the butterfly should recognize you."

Because of mad scientists and their stupid experiments, she and Toshiro have somehow switched spiritual bodies. It is beyond strange actually talking to herself, to watch her mouth downturn in annoyance, her hair blow in the breeze. It is surreal to feel the coolness of a sword she cannot see at her fingertips.

"All you have to do is paperwork," Hitsugaya continues, "And most of it is pretty self-explanatory. Just don't sign anything stupid."

"And I have soccer practice and a biology quiz tomorrow." She pauses. "Please study for that."

He raises an eyebrow. "Why wouldn't I?"

"I don't know, Toshiro," she scoffs. "Just do it. It don't want you ruining my class ranking." A pause. "And try not to act like there's a stick up your ass. My family will notice something's off."

He rolls his eyes. "Maybe you should act like there's one up yours, then."

She sighs. "Maybe."

**~.~.~**

When she had listened to him complain about all of his paperwork, she had merely assumed he was being dramatic. Looking at the piles on his desk now, she's astounded by the magnitude of paper-pushing required of her.

Luckily, Toshiro's signature seems to be nothing more than a scribble.

She can scribble with the best of them.

**~.~.~**

"What's the matter with you?" Ichigo asks, peering at him curiously. "You seem kind of different."

Toshiro tries not to fidget. "Nothing. Just worried about my biology quiz."

Yuzu frowns. "Why are you worried, Karin-chan? That's your best subject."

He swallows. "Just one of those things, I guess."

Isshin launches himself at him, practically trapping him in a headlock. "Daddy knows you'll do great!" he croons, rubbing his face against his. The stubble kind of burns.

This, at least, is familiar.

**~.~.~**

Her new lieutenant stumbles into the office two hours late, blurry-eyed and smelling faintly of alcohol. "Sorry, Taicho," she mumbles. "I had…a thing. And I'm going to have to leave early because I have another thing."

"No," Karin says breezily, scribbling an unintelligible signature on another form. She is prepared for Matsumoto. She will not tackle these mountains of paper alone.

The blonde looks at her blearily. "No?" she repeats.

Karin casually places Matsumoto's secret stash of sake on her desk, one bottle at a time. She feels slightly bad about breaking her friend's confidence, but desperate times call for desperate measures. "I even found the one you hid in the ceiling," she quips. "You leave early and I pour these all down the drain."

Matsumoto looks shocked, then scandalized. "Some of those are vintage!"

Karin resists the urge to grin, knowing it would look out of place on Toshiro's serious face. "More reason to toss it, I say."

The blonde dutifully stomps to her desk and picks up her own paperwork. "Karin-chan told you, didn't she?" she mumbles.

Karin pretends she doesn't hear, signing her approval to a request of hot tubs in the Tenth Divison locker rooms. Seems legit.

**~.~.~**

Beside the biology textbook, Karin's phone vibrates. It's a text from him.

_You should really consider getting a stamp with your signature on it. My hand is killing me._

A small smile graces his lips.

 _You get used to it_ , he responds, before adding,  _do you know what crazy stuff would make it through if Matsumoto had access to a stamp like that?_

The answer comes a few seconds later.  _True. Btw, your division's getting hot tubs._

He sighs deeply.

**~.~.~**

"Who do you keep texting? You're never on your phone this much." From across the room, Matsumoto's eyes gleam suspiciously. "Is it Karin-chan?" she teases.

"Yes," Karin answers distractedly.

The silence is so sudden, Karin looks up. Matsumoto's eyes are wide, her jaw practically on the floor.

"…No?" Karin tries again. But Matsumoto's reaction doesn't change, and Karin isn't sure which was the right answer. She coughs. "I mean, it's none of your business. Get back to work."

**~.~.~**

He knew that Karin was the only girl on her school's soccer team. What he  _didn't_ know was that at least three of her teammates are blatantly infatuated with her.

It makes him irritated.

"Great shot, Kurosaki!" an upperclassman cheers, reaching to ruffle Karin's hair.

Toshiro pointedly moves out of the way. "I have a boyfriend," he responds bluntly.

And then he heads home, cooly ignoring the perplexed looks sent his way.

**~.~.~**

Toshiro's phone rings around dinnertime. Karin sees her own name pop up, and she takes the phone call in the hallway to evade Matsumoto's prying eyes. "Hey. What's up?"

"I just got done with soccer practice," comes her own voice. She's still not used to that.

"Good. What's the problem?"

A pause. "I stink."

"Then shower." Another pause, and a lightbulb goes off in her head. "Did you seriously just call me to get permission to shower?"

His sounded affronted. "I didn't want to cross any boundaries."

She laughs. "I assumed taking proper care of the body wasn't crossing any boundaries."

"So are you saying that you—"

"Multiple times. Girl's gotta pee, Toshiro."

She can feel the blush over the phone, and she grins.

He changes the subject. "So how are things going?"

"Great," she answers truthfully. "I've blackmailed Rangiku-san into working, so now the work's pretty much all done."

"I'm impressed."

"You should be." She pauses thoughtfully. "By the way, I'm not sure, but I think I accidentally gave her the impression that we're dating."

A pause. "I may have given your soccer team the same impression."

"Oh," she breathes, and then silence stretches between them and it's filled with  _something_ , something she can't identify without seeing his face and analyzing his words. She feels the conversation forming, one that will definitely occur once they're both back into their respective spirit bodies and have to confront the fact that everyone assumes they're dating and maybe, just maybe, they actually kind of are. And maybe they actually should, for real.

There is a scratching sound on the other side of the door, and Karin knows that Matsumoto has given in to her eavesdropping tendencies.

"Well I have to go," she says softly. "Shower, please. And empty my bladder, while you're at it."

She can tell he wants to say something else, but he settles on, "Goodnight."

It's full of promises.


	29. Prompt: All Too Well

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the prompt was Taylor Swift's "All Too Well". Since I don't really like Taylor Swift, this was the first time I had listened to the song. I kinda feel like I missed the mark completely with this one haha! I'm not happy with this at all. Still, here you go. I'm sorry in advance.

It comes to her suddenly, the moment she first sees him. It's been four months since they've set eyes on each other, and in that time, he has only contacted her a handful of times—a few hurried texts. Even now, they're only allowed one day before he has to jet back to his responsibilities.

It's why, with a tremor in her voice, the first thing she says to him is, "This isn't going to work."

He freezes, arms halfway outstretched towards her. "What?"

" _This_." She gestures between them, fear slowly creeping into her. "This is not a relationship, Toshiro."

He doesn't try to negate her words—he knows she's right, has felt the same for a long time. "I thought you were okay with this."

"When I was thirteen." Years and years ago, when she was young and didn't know any better. Aging tends to kill delusions and smack you in the face with reality. "And I signed up for a long-distance relationship, not this Tanabata shit."

His face steels over. "You know I can't always get away."

"I know.  _I know_." She has repeated this to herself a thousand times. She knows he's important, that he has so many responsibilities, so much on his shoulders. That he's already sacrificing to meet her these scant times. "But Toshiro, I'm  _human_. I don't have much time left."

The  _And I'm wasting it waiting for you_ goes unsaid, but it is heard loud and clear.

Karin runs a hand through her hair, agitated. Toshiro takes it, runs his thumb over her knuckles carefully. "Maybe we just need a break," he says, his voice pained. "Some time away from each other to reevaluate things."

All they've ever had is breaks.

Karin rests her forehead on his. She nods.

**~.~.~**

The next time they meet is at the wedding.

Her brother chooses to have the affair in Soul Society—fitting, as it will be his new home. This means that Karin finds herself sitting at the same table as her maybe-ex-boyfriend, fighting the urge to kiss him senseless.

"I missed you," he murmurs, and she thinks she might cry.

It has been six months, half a year, a chunk of her lifetime. "I missed you too."

"Stay with me," he blurts, and her heart seizes.

"What?"

"Stay here. With me."

She can't believe he's asking this of her. Ichigo gave his life away without a second thought, positive that Rukia was all he really wanted, really needed. Karin isn't so sure.

She wants to go to college, to become a doctor, to get married and have children. She wants to watch her children grow, wants her mundane human life. She wants to grow old.

She wants Toshiro. But is she willing to throw away the rest?

Her silence speaks volumes, and Toshiro's eyes grow sad, distant. "I can't," she finally says. She is not ready to die. "But you can come with  _me_."

He is just as mystified. He has built up so much, has accomplished so much, and is not willing to abandon it. "I can't."

"My father did."

"I'm not your father."

They stare at each other in silence, what is left of  _them_  crumbling before their eyes. Karin feels like her feelings are going to swallow her whole. "Okay," she whispers.

He looks away. "Okay."

**~.~.~**

She is sitting down to her morning tea when she feels him. She isn't surprised; she's felt him hanging around for days. She merely opens her front door without a word and returns to the kitchen. She hears him follow.

Mind racing, she pours a second cup of tea and adds a single scoop of sugar, wondering if he still drinks it that way. He takes it from her, gives her a small smile of thanks.

Time has shown itself on Karin—her hair is graying, her face is starting to have lines that weren't there before, and childbirth has softened parts of her that used to be taut. It's completely unfair that after thirty years, Toshiro looks pretty much the same. Time refuses to touch him.

"How are you?" he starts.

She sits across the table from him, wishing he would get to the fucking point. "Why are you here, Toshiro?"

He looks baffled at her question. "…I just missed you."

And she's missed him every single day. She knows it's unhealthy, that she will never really move on until she lets go, but she can't help it. She mumbles his name in her sleep, and when she makes love to her husband, it is  _his_  name that wants to leave her lips. When she looks at her children, she wonders what it would be like for their eyes to be impossibly blue.

But despite all this, she can't find it in herself to regret her choice.

She reaches over the table and interlocks their fingers, relishing in the familiar feel of his cool skin on hers. She remembers meeting him for the first time when she was only eleven years old, remembers the first time his lips brushed hers. He is such an important part of her life, so many of her firsts. Her middles and ends.

"This is the last time," she says quietly. "I don't want to see you again. I don't want to  _feel_ you again."

He swallows, nods. Leans over the table and kisses her hard on the mouth. "You won't."

And then he is gone. Karin sits there long after her tea has gone cold.

**~.~.~**

She dies when she is eighty years old, and it is her brother who comes to get her.

Always young at heart, her soul looks the same as she did when she was in her early twenties. The sight of her visibly startles Toshiro, and she wants to run to him and hold and never let go. But what they had has long been jaded. Fate has smashed their relationship into too many unsalvageable pieces, and maybe in a different lifetime, in different circumstances, they could have been together and happy.

As it is, Karin gives him a small smile and looks away, refusing to think about what could have been.


	30. Prompt: Otp Mash

**Hitsugaya Toshiro**  joined Facebook

**-Kurosaki**   **Karin** ,  **Kurosaki Yuzu** , and  **Matsumoto Rangiku**  like this

- **Kurosaki Karin** commented: “Finally! You’re such a stubborn old man!”

- **Matsumoto Rangiku**  likes this

- **Hitsugaya Toshiro**  commented: “You’re lucky I don’t know how to unfriend you”

- **Matsumoto Rangiku**  likes this

- **Hitsugaya Toshiro**  commented: “Get back to work, Matsumoto!”

~.~.~

**Kurosaki Yuzu** : “Family picnic!”—with  **Kurosaki Ichigo** ,  **Kurosaki Isshin** ,  **Kurosaki Karin** , and  **Kuchiki Rukia**

- **Kuchiki Byakuya** ,  **Matsumoto Rangiku** ,  **Abarai Renji**  and  **20 others**  like this

- **Kurosaki Isshin**  commented: “Such a wonderful day with my beautiful daughters!”

- **Kurosaki Ichigo**  commented: “*Sigh*”

- **Kurosaki Isshin**  commented: “Oh yeah you too”

- **Kurosaki Ichigo**  commented: “Wow. It’s not like I’m your firstborn or anything. And what about Rukia?”

- **Kurosaki Isshin**  commented: “I said ‘my beautiful daughters!’”

- **Kurosaki Ichigo**  commented: “*Sigh*”

~.~.~

**Kurosaki Karin**  wrote on  **Hitsugaya Toshiro’s**  timeline: “The fuck?!”

- **Hitsugaya Toshiro**  commented: “?”

- **Kurosaki Karin** commented: “Care to explain why my dad is now listed as YOUR FATHER”

- **Matsumoto Rangiku**  likes this

- **Hitsugaya Toshiro**  commented: “He sent me the request and wouldn’t stop bothering me until I accepted it”

- **Kurosaki Karin** commented: “Is this real life”

- **Hitsugaya Toshiro**  commented: “What’s the big deal? He has Kuchiki listed as his daughter”

- **Kurosaki Karin**  commented: “You do realize she and my brother are fucking”

- **Matsumoto Rangiku, Madarame Ikkaku, Ishida Uryuu** and **62 others** like this

- **Hitsugaya Toshiro**  commented: “Oh”

- **Matsumoto Rangiku**  commented: “CALLED IT!!!”

- **Kyoraku Shunsui**  commented: “Pretty sure everyone called that one”

- **Abarai Renji** ,  **Kurosaki Yuzu** ,  **Ukitake Jushiro**  and  **143 others**  like this

- **Kurosaki Ichigo**  commented: “EXCUSE ME THIS IS SLANDER. I WOULD NEVER DO…THAT WITH RUKIA!!!”

- **Kurosaki Ichigo**  commented: “AND JESUS  **Karin**  DON’T YOU KNOW HOW TO USE THE PM FEATURE”

- **Yachiru** **☆*･゜ﾟ･*\\(^O^)/*･゜ﾟ･*☆**  commented: “Smh”

- **Kurosaki Karin** ,  **Matsumoto Rangiku** ,  **Kurosaki Isshin**  and  **46 others**  like this

- **Kurosaki Karin**  commented: “You’re such an idiot, Ichi-nii”

- **Kurosaki Karin**  commented: “Correction: They WERE fucking”

- **Ishida Uryuu** ,  **Shihoin Yoruichi** ,  **Kuchiki Rukia**  and  **90 others**  like this

~.~.~

**Kurosaki Ichigo**  wrote on  **Kuchiki Rukia** 's timeline: “RUKIA”

- **Kurosaki Ichigo**  commented: “Rukia, pick up your phone”

- **Kuchiki Byakuya**  likes this

- **Kurosaki Ichigo**  commented: “Rukia, come on”

- **Kuchiki Byakuya**  likes this

- **Kurosaki Ichigo**  commented: “Please don’t be like that”

- **Kuchiki Byakuya**  and  **Abarai Renji**  like this

- **Kurosaki Ichigo**  commented: “Babe”

- **Matsumoto Rangiku** ,  **Yachiru** **☆*･゜ﾟ･*\\(^O^)/*･゜ﾟ･*☆** ,  **Kurosaki Karin**  and  **10 others**  like this

- **Kurosaki Karin**  commented: “Wow, Ichi-nii. Don’t you know how to use the PM feature? lmao”

- **Kurosaki Yuzu** ,  **Kuchiki Byakuya** ,  **Urahara Kisuke**  and  **33 others**  like this

- **Kurosaki Ichigo**  commented: “NOT NOW KARIN”

~.~.~

**Kurosaki Ichigo**  is in a relationship with  **Kuchiki Rukia**

- **Kurosaki Isshin** ,  **Inoue Orihime** ,  **Yamada Hanataro**  and  **590 others**  like this

- **Abarai Renji**  commented: “Fucking finally! Now will you stop with the googly eyes”

- **Zaraki Kenpachi** ,  **Arisawa Tatsuki** ,  **Hisagi Shuuhei**  and  **105 others**  like this

- **Kuchiki Rukia**  commented: “Never”

- **Kurosaki Karin** ,  **Kurosaki Yuzu** ,  **Matsumoto Rangiku**  and  **247 others**  like this

~.~.~

**Hitsugaya Toshiro**  changed his profile picture. —with  **Kurosaki Karin**

- **Matsumoto Rangiku** ,  **Kurosaki Yuzu** ,  **Kurosaki Karin**  and  **20 others**  like this

- **Matsumoto Rangiku**  commented: “I’M ON A ROLL, 2 for 2! I should really be a fortune teller. ;D”

- **Hitsugaya Toshiro**  commented: “What are you going on about?”

- **Matsumoto Rangiku**  commented: “Taicho, I think it’s sweet of you to post a photo of you and your girlfriend!”

- **Kurosaki Yuzu**  and  **Kuchiki Rukia**  like this

- **Hitsugaya Toshiro**  commented: “Don’t be ridiculous. This is a good picture of me, and she just happens to be in it”

- **Kurosaki Karin**  likes this

- **Matsumoto Rangiku**  commented: “Yeah ok”

~.~.~

**Kurosaki Yuzu**  added a photo: “Family Dinner!”—with  **Kurosaki Karin** ,  **Kuchiki Rukia** ,  **Hanakari Jinta** , **Kurosaki Isshin** ,  **Kurosaki Ichigo** , and  **Hitsugaya Toshiro**

- **Inoue Orihime** ,  **Kurosaki Ichigo** ,  **Abarai Renji**  and  **34 others**  like this

- **Matsumoto Rangiku**  commented: “Family, huh (¬‿¬)”

- **Kurosaki Karin**  commented: “You’re thinking too hard, Ran”

~.~.~

**Kurosaki Karin**  changed her profile picture. —with  **Hitsugaya Toshiro**

- **Kurosaki Yuzu** ,  **Kurosaki Isshin** ,  **Kuchiki Rukia**  and  **22 others**  like this

- **Kurosaki Yuzu**  commented: “Matching profile pics ♥”

- **Matsumoto Rangiku**  commented: “Are you kidding me?”

- **Kurosaki Karin**  commented: “Hey now. This is a good picture of me, and Toshiro just happens to be in it”

- **Matsumoto Rangiku**  commented: “Do you think this is a joke”

~.~.~

**Matsumoto Rangiku**  wrote on  **Kurosaki Karin** 's timeline: “Don't think I didn't notice that both you and Taicho's relationship statuses are suddenly private”

- **Kurosaki Karin**  commented: “Why Rangiku, I have no idea what you’re talking about. It’s always been that way”

- **Matsumoto Rangiku**  commented: “You think you’re so slick”

- **Hitsugaya Toshiro**  commented: “Get back to work, Matsumoto”

~.~.~

**Matsumoto Rangiku** : “I have been saying this for years, but no one but  **Yuzu**  has ever taken me seriously. Well, my friends, I present to you PROOF. I AM 2 FOR 2. HIT ME UP IF YOU EVER NEED LOTTERY NUMBERS. GOODBYE AND GOODNIGHT” —with  **Kurosaki Karin**  and  **Hitsugaya Toshiro**

- **Kurosaki Yuzu** ,  **Kuchiki Rukia** ,  **Ukitake Jushiro**  and  **415 others**  like this

- **Madarame Ikkaku**  commented: “I never thought I’d see the day. Look at Hitsugaya-taicho, gettin’ his mack on”

- **Matsumoto Rangiku** ,  **Kuchiki Rukia** ,  **Kira Izuru**  and  **60 others**  like this

- **Arisawa Tatsuki**  commented: “It looks like he’s trying to suck the lunch she ate back up her esophagus”

- **Kuchiki Rukia** ,  **Ayasegawa Yumichika** ,  **Shihoin Yoruichi**  and  **47 others**  like this

- **Hisagi Shuuhei**  commented: “Looks pretty hot, ngl. Go get ‘em, tiger!”

- **Kyoraku Shunsui** ,  **Kurosaki Isshin** ,  **Kuchiki Rukia**  and  **52 others**  like this

- **Kurosaki Ichigo**  commented: “THAT’S MY FUCKING SISTER”

- **Kuchiki Rukia**  commented: “AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA”

- **Matsumoto Rangiku** ,  **Ishida Uryuu** ,  **Arisawa Tatsuki**  and  **70 others**  like this

- **Kurosaki Karin**  commented: “WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK, RAN?!”

- **Matsumoto Rangiku**  commented: “Check. MATE.”

**Kurosaki Isshin** ,  **Ise Nanao** ,  **Yachiru** **☆*･゜ﾟ･*\\(^O^)/*･゜ﾟ･*☆** and  **105 others**  like this

- **Hitsugaya Toshiro**  commented: “MATSUMOTO!!!”

- **Matsumoto Rangiku**  commented: “Whoops. Did I forget to use the PM feature? :D”

~.~.~

**Hitsugaya Toshiro**  is in a relationship with  **Kurosaki Karin**.

- **Matsumoto Rangiku** ,  **Kurosaki Yuzu** ,  **Kuchiki Rukia**  and  **502 others**  like this


	31. Prompt: Biggest fan

When he turned the corner and saw her standing there— _the_  Kurosaki Karin, comparing instant noodle brands like it was totally normal—he was so startled that for a few long moments, he was sure he was going into cardiac arrest.

Technically, he hadn’t seen her for years. Even though he had long been following her blossoming career—reading articles, never missing a game, and secretly-not-so-secretly keeping the Karakura Lions calendar Matsumoto got him for his birthday and never feeling the need to go to any other page but May—the last time he had seen her in person, she was a child.

He had been in several classes with her older brother, occasionally partnering up with him for projects, seeing Karin and her sister in passing and never paying them much attention. Now, however, she was once again in front of him,  _in the flesh_ , and he could feel himself slowly starting unravel.

His first reaction to seeing her there, hair in a ponytail and dressed casually in a tshirt and jeans, was to freeze. Now that he was having heart palpitations, though, his second reaction was to dart out of sight before she saw him freaking out. Unfortunately, a pyramid of beans was unsympathetic to his growing hysteria, and in his haste, a tier of cans toppled to the ground with a resounding crash.

Horrified, he quickly dropped to the floor, hoping he hadn’t made too much of a scene.

"Are you okay?"

_Fuck_.

"Fine," he practically yelled, his voice an octave too high. But it was too late. He saw her tennis shoes in his periphery, and then she was crouching beside him, helping him collect cans. His palms began to sweat.

He was mortified by the reaction he was having to her. Normally, it took a lot to shake him, to get anything other than cool indifference. Yes, she was a bit of a celebrity, but he had seen multiple and it had never mattered to him before. Yet, as he gathered cans, trying not to stare at her, he was appalled to realize that his favorite soccer player had turned him into a prepubescent groupie.

"You were amazing in your last game." 

It took a second to realize it was his  _own_ voice that spoke, and he wanted to suck the words back into his mouth. He cleared his throat awkwardly.

Karin paused, a look of surprise crossing her features. Then, she grinned, so endearingly lopsidedly that he was sure his heart had stopped. “Thanks!”

Cans gathered, they worked together to put them back into a sad shadow of what they once were. He concentrated on breathing, and, last can in place, she finally decided which brand of noodle she wanted to buy. She fingered the packaging reluctantly.

"I have to run, or I’ll be late for practice," she said slowly. "But it was really nice seeing you again, Toshiro. We should catch up over dinner sometime."

His eyes widened, jaw dropped.  _Dinner?_  With  _KUROSAKI KARIN?_ All he could manage was a mute nod, and then he was watching her stroll away with her noodles.

**She remembered him.** He felt like he was going to pass out. 

Dazedly, he placed a few cans of beans into his cart.

Yup, definitely having a heart attack.


	32. Prompt: Coachella

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Easter, everyone!
> 
> Hitsukarin Week is upon us once again, and of course I had to participate. But we'll see how lazy I get uggg
> 
> Head's up that this prompt is totally nsfw. I wrote it weeks ago and didn't make the connection that this prompt fell on Easter...whoops! *laughs nervously* Anyway, it's inspired by "Two Weeks" by FKA twigs, an amazing song that you should listen to right now, before/while you read.

**Day 1**

He's seen her around before.

There have been many weekend nights where he's come home to their shitty apartment building, climbed up the steps, and seen her lounging on her porch, smoking what definitely didn't smell like a cigarette. Sometimes she would nod politely at him, would raise her beer in greeting. Most times, she merely stared over the railing, watching all the drunk college students pass through their alley, possibly coming home, possibly just headed out—the girls, toddling in their too-tall heels, the guys laughing like hyenas, and more than a few people vomiting on the gravel. And Toshiro would continue up the steps to his own floor, to his own apartment.

Tonight, however, her eyes flicker over to him while she takes a slow drag on her not-cigarette, and she frowns as she exhales. "Hey."

He clears his throat, but his voice still sounds raw when he responds. "Hey."

Her frown deepens, and she pushes herself out of her chair. "You want a beer? You look like you need a beer."

He has the dismissal on the tip of his tongue, but then she's already back in her apartment. He walks over and sits in the chair opposite hers, because what the fuck does it matter anyway.

She comes back out, carrying two beers and illuminated by porchlight. "Here," she says, handing him a bottle and sliding back into her seat. She takes another hit from her joint, holds the smoke in her lungs. Wordlessly offers it to him. When he shakes his head, she stamps it out. "I'm Karin, by the way."

"Toshiro," he supplies hollowly. Takes a sip of his beer and watches as two guys practically drag their friend home.

He expects Karin to question him, to babble nonsensical things—to be annoying, essentially. Instead, she says nothing, and they watch the people pass in silence.

When his bottle is empty, he stands. His lips part. "I just walked in on my girlfriend in bed with her professor."

He's not sure what makes him say it. It sure as hell doesn't make the pressure in his chest go away, the rolling of his stomach settle. It only makes his voice crack again, only intensifies the burning behind his eyes.

She looks at him, eyes heavy-lidded but gaze still somehow piercing. "Shit." Her bottom lip disappears into her mouth before reappearing seconds later. She seems to see through him. "You know, I'd put you first."

He isn't sure what to say, to this girl that he's only seen in passing, that he's only now sort of talking to, despite living above her for months. So he doesn't say anything, merely watches as she practically glides to her feet, picks up the empty bottles and tosses them in the recycling. Opens her apartment door and looks at him over her shoulder. "I can fuck you better than her," she says as nonchalantly as if she had said goodbye.

Closes the door behind her before he can react.

**Day 2**

A loud burst of laughter makes him glance out his window and he sees her, stumbling down the alley with a group of girlfriends, wearing tall heels and a dress short enough to make her legs appear endless.

She disappears from view, and Toshiro finds himself opening his door and standing on his own landing, watching her say goodbye to her friends.

When she starts up the stairs, he can't see her anymore. He waits until he hears her open her door before he heads back inside.

**Day 5**

"I didn't know you worked here," he tells her, though it is a lie. He never really noticed, true, but in the recesses of his mind he remembers seeing his neighbor behind the help desk at the library before.

"Yup," she says airily, looking up from her textbook. A quick glance, and he identifies it as high-level chemistry. He's impressed. "Four days a week. Work study."

It occurs to him that she is probably as financially stable as he is—which is not at all. Especially for her to live in the same dumpy apartment building.

She's looking at him, long and hard. "What do you want?" she asks, but it is not harsh or demanding. The inflection is different, is instead genuine and curious.

He swallows, not sure what to say. She keeps looking, so he looks back. It's the first time he truly looks at her—notices her dark hair cropped sensibly at the chin, her slim, athletic figure, the light smattering of freckles across her nose, the way her mouth tilts on one side as she inspects him.

"She wasn't even sorry." The words tumble from his mouth, and he inwardly curses her dark eyes' apparent ability to drag the truth out of him. "We grew up together, and we've been together for years, but when I caught them together, there was no remorse."

Her eyebrows furrow, and her head tilts sympathetically. "What do you want?" she repeats lowly.

He still doesn't know the answer, so he exhales slowly through his nose heads toward his favorite study table.

**Day 7**

It is definite déjà vu, watching her stumble home through his window, her heels and hemline impossibly high. He feels like a creep, but he still can't make himself stop, eyes intently drinking in her expression as she smiles, whole face lighting up as she laughs.

And then she's gone, undoubtedly headed to her apartment, out of his field of view.

For a few minutes, he stares at the spot she vacated, heart nestling into his throat. Then, with an unsettled sigh, he grabs his keys and heads down one floor.

When she opens the door, she is visibly surprised to see him, though the look passes quickly. She has changed into a tank top and cotton shorts, short hair gathered into a messy nub of a ponytail, and is still wearing tonight's makeup, her eyelashes exceptionally long. And, based on the way he can see her nipples pucker in the night breeze, she isn't wearing a bra.

He clears his throat.

Wordlessly, she steps aside, allowing him into the apartment. It mirrors his, kitchen filtering into a living area with a bedroom and bathroom down a hallway, though she has slightly more furniture than he does. He sits at the kitchen table, observing as she takes out a small pack of leaves and packs a multicolored glass object with some of it. Then, putting the bowl between her lips, she runs a lighter over the leaves and inhales deeply.

Still silent, she offers him the bowl, and this time, he takes it. Self-consciously, he places it between his lips, and when she leans over to light it for him, he can't help but see the swelling curve of her cleavage.

"Hold the smoke in," she instructs softly, and he coughs instead, making her smile. At this point, he is blatantly staring. And she's not stopping him.

It isn't until they both take another hit—one he holds in this time—that Karin turns to him, her expression serious again. "Toshiro." A shiver goes down his spine at the sound of his name on her tongue. "What do you want?"

He's never smoked  _anything_  before, but he finds this muted, tingly feeling to be nice, relaxing. His tongue feels funny in his mouth, kind of heavy. "I want you to sit on my face." Apparently loosened.

It takes a second, but surprise makes an appearance in her expression for the second time that night. She laughs. And as he holds her gaze, something else lurks under her visage. Something that makes him shift in his seat.

"That can be arranged," she says slowly.

He reaches for her, uninhibited, fingers toying with the naked skin between her shirt and pants, amazed at the goosebumps that rise in their wake. He slides her shorts down her ass and her breath hitches; met with nothing but her dark curls, his own breath stops in his throat. After a moment of admiration, he places an open-mouth kiss on her hipbone, humming in appreciation as her fingers wind through his hair.

Minutes later, when they're in bed and she's slowly grinding against his inexperienced tongue, whispering encouragements—minutes later, he breathes for the first time in days.

**Day 10**

She pants into his mouth, a high-pitched whine escaping her throat as he swivels his hips at a slightly different angle. In the bookcase he leans her against, books rattle with each stroke.

"Be quiet," he admonishes lowly, smiling against her tongue. "You don't want to get fired, do you?" She has the night shift, and there aren't that many people in the library at eleven on a Thursday, but they still need to keep their voices down.

Scowling, she reaches her hands underneath his shirt and twists a nipple, making him groan. " _You_  be quiet." But then he hits something in her, something that makes her eyes flutter shut, makes her grab his ass in an effort to pull him further in and keep him there. She sucks on his neck and he swears, his balls tightening in warning, and then they're no longer in tandem. She starts furiously rubbing her clitoris, and he's done—his strokes fast and hard and arhythmic, a book falling over. He sees her bite her lip— _hard_ —and then he doesn't see anything, every nerve in him firing, the bookshelf they're leaning against the only thing keeping them both upright.

**Day 14**

"I have to pee," she says, setting her menu on the table and scooting out of the booth. "I'll be right back."

He nods his head, ignoring his own menu in favor of watching her until she's out of sight. It's when he scans the restaurant that he sees Momo.

It takes a second to place her face—which is strange, seeing as he's been looking at it for years, ever since they were young. Also strange, it's been a while since he thought of her directly. Still, when he sees her at the front desk, picking up takeout, it feels as if he's been suckerpunched, all of the air stolen from him.

Karin slides back into her seat, effectively blocking his view of her. She frowns at the look on his face. "Is everything okay?"

Suffocating, he leans over the table. Captures her lips with his. Feels his heart rate slow.  _Breathes_.

"No," he says honestly, leaning his forehead against hers. Closing his eyes. Breathing. "But it will be."


	33. Prompt: Azalea flower

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, this took me forever to finish because halfway through I decided I hated it. But since I wrote it anyway, I figured I'd still post it.
> 
> Prompt: Azalea flower 花言葉 (Language of flowers) is to take care of yourself, for me.

Her doctor is talking, but she can't hear any of it. His lips move without sound, so slowly and ridiculously that she laughs, on the edge of hysterical. She sees everything and she sees nothing, everything but the doctor's sad eyes and slowly moving lips a blurred, muted background.

 _Stage four_ , he had said, and then nothing else mattered anymore.

Karin laughs and laughs.

~.~.~

He appears at her bedroom window while she's staring unseeingly at her homework, and the world seems to spin again, colors seem to return. Because she had forgotten that this isn't all bad, that he was her fresh start.

She smiles. "Hey. What are you doing here?" As if she doesn't know.

There's a blank look on his face, and something flashes in his blue-green eyes that makes her smile slowly go back into hiding. "Yuzu called." He climbs over the threshold, sitting on her bed. "She was crying."

"Yeah, she's been doing that a lot lately." She shrugs. "Can't really blame her."

"No, you can't." The look in his eyes returns, and Karin's blood suddenly chills, because she has finally recognized that he is furious—with  _her—_ and that has never happened before. " _Why aren't you fighting it?_ "

She wants to get angry, to meet his fury head on with her own, because that's just how she is and how she's always been. But lately she's been training herself to feel nothing, so the heat of his words gets swallowed up by the growing void inside her. "Because there's no point."

He stands abruptly, and she can see his control crumble. His shoulders tremble, his hands clench into fists. "You don't know that," he says so raw and so quietly that he may as well have screamed at her.

"Toshiro." She stands and reaches for his hands, mostly to calm her own, and for a second, it looks like he won't let her. But then her palms cover his fists, coaxes them to uncurl. "I do."

His rage evaporates, but Karin immediately misses it because it is quickly replaced with unrestrained sorrow, and she knows that if he can't keep it together, he will break her. His eyes begin to shine, but no tears fall. "How can you ask everyone to just watch you waste away? You're being selfish."

"So are you," she counters gently. She swallows. "I'm dying, whether I fight it or not." Toshiro jolts; Karin soldiers on. "I'm dying, and I've been dying since I was born. This isn't the way I wanted to go out, but life fucks you over sometimes. I see no point in prolonging the inevitable."

 _I'll go to Soul Society,_ her heart says, but her mouth doesn't.  _We can be together._

He doesn't respond, slipping his hands out of hers.

~.~.~

Months pass, and Hitsugaya doesn't come back. Doesn't even contact her.

Karin's health deteriorates, slowly enough that for a while she can pretend everything is life as usual. Against her family's wishes, she goes to school, and even plays on her high school soccer team. Until one day, walking home, she collapses on the sidewalk and is slammed back to reality.

After that, she mostly stays around the house, sometimes too tired to even leave her bed. Ichigo moves back home, and though no one ever says why, it doesn't take a genius to know it's because of her. He and Yuzu act as her nurses, feeding her and cleaning her and medicating her, all with fake smiles on their faces. It makes her sick.

The pain has gotten so much that she often wakes up moaning and sobbing, so along with her pain medication, she's given sleeping pills, ones that knock her out and have her waking in a state of confusion.

Tonight, she swallows a pain pill, and then another, because she is in agony. Movement outside her window catches her eye—but when she realizes it's only fluttering petals from her neighbor's azalea bush, she scoffs, pushing down her sudden disappointment.  _Take care of yourself_. That was rich.

Suddenly tired beyond belief, Karin pops the pill that helps her sleep and forget. She slowly twirls the container between her fingers, almost trancelike, and without thinking, slips another pill onto her tongue. Then another.

And another.

It is Yuzu who finds her, her fake cheerfulness immediately disappearing at the sight of Karin holding a half-empty container. She grabs her. "How many did you take?" she demands roughly. From the bruising hold Yuzu has on her face, Karin can tell that her twin is immensely upset. But her training is running on autopilot; Yuzu looks sharply into her eyes, judging her alertness. " _How many?"_

"I don't know," she responds quietly, looking away. Not fighting as her sister pries her mouth open and forces her fingers down her throat.

The bile comes quickly, burning the entire way up. Vomit cascades from her lips, splashing at Yuzu's feet and raining tiny white pebbles.

When she finally stops heaving, Yuzu's eyes water and overflow. "How could you?" she asks in a small, shaky voice.

 _How could_ you _?_  her mind replies, but she can't put that on her sister, no matter how righteous she feels, so she says nothing.

She had thought she couldn't feel any more empty, but this has proven her wrong.

~.~.~

He comes days later—after Isshin pumps her stomach just in case, an oddly understanding look in his eyes; after Ichigo takes control of her medicine, unable to look at her at all; after Yuzu smiles and laughs and pretends that Karin isn't dying and she didn't just try to kill herself.

He comes with one of her labored breaths—one second she's alone, and then she's not—and he looks at her, long and hard. It's been a long time since someone has done so. Usually her family looks out of the corner of their eyes, or they just look in her general direction. She can't blame them, for she has wasted away–skin pallid and gray and paper thin, looking about to burst because of her sharp bones, hair thin and stringy. But Toshiro looks—really  _looks—_ and she feels something for the first time in forever that isn't self-pity or agony.

"I'm sorry," he whispers, and she can hear tears veiling his words. "I should have been here. I  _wanted_  to be here. But I…I can't see you like this."

She knows she should be infuriated, but she's long been too tired to feel anything other than cold emptiness.

"It's not you." He swallows. "None of this is  _you_ , and I can't take it."

Silence. Karin shifts, just enough that there is room next to her on her bed, and Toshiro takes the hint, sliding in and careful not to jostle her.

He twiddles his thumbs agitatedly. "I love you." It startles Karin a little bit, but he says it so clearly and nonchalantly that he may as well be telling her that he had just gotten a haircut. "I love you, and it's too hard to watch you suffer."

"Then help me," she croaks, voice cracking with misuse. It burns behind her eyes, and the room seems to fill with water, but she just blinks rapidly, refusing to look as pathetic as she feels. "If you love me, then  _help me_."

~.~.~

He opens his mouth and closes it, and for a few moments, they merely stare at each other. But when he reaches behind him for a pillow and she does nothing to stop him, his eyes steel over resolutely.

Ever so gently, he places it over her face, only adding more pressure when her hand snakes around and covers his, encouraging him. After that, he doesn't let up, even when her body panics, all of her weakened muscles rigid and thrashing, her hands clawing at his enough to draw blood, fighting to live even though she didn't want to anymore.

He's happy that he doesn't have to see her eyes through this, happier still when her body finally gives up, finally stops fighting. Finally sets free her strong, vibrant soul from its pitiful cage.

~.~.~

Outside her window, azalea petals flutter in the wind.

"Thank you," he hears behind him, and they both breathe.


	34. Prompt: Not friends not lovers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I ended up writing this one early on, and I still haven't written the prompts before this one because I keep watching Scrubs and getting distracted. But I've started it, so it'll eventually get posted. lol
> 
> Prompt: More than a friend, but not quite lovers

It was late, and on any other night, he would be fast asleep. But tonight was one of the nights that Karin stayed with him, and on those nights, he found himself wide awake, unable to sleep with the knowledge that she was out galavanting with Matsumoto, no doubt getting into trouble. It was almost a relief to hear her fumble with the keys, the front door creak open, and, after a  _thud_ , a string of muffled expletives leave her mouth.

 _Almost_.

Instead of finally being able to relax, his muscles tightened in anticipation. His heart rate elevated, his breathing shallowed. And he was wide awake, listening intently as her footsteps stumbled down the hall, stopping at the guest room she was staying in.

He held his breath, heart pounding in the silence. Then, slowly, the footsteps continued, getting louder as they made their way to his room.

As he heard the soft click of the door being opened, he turned on his side and closed his eyes, peering into the darkness beneath his eyelids. The shadow paused in the doorway, seemingly debating, before soundlessly making its way to the other side of his bed.

There was the distinct whisper of cloth, and Toshiro knew that Karin was undressing, because she tended to sleep in her underwear while intoxicated. Still, he kept his back to her. Didn't dare move, despite the thrill tingling throughout his body.

Karin slipped into bed with him, the muffled sound of skin moving against sheets in the air.

This was the turning point.

Some nights, she would take her clothes off, climb into bed, and promptly start snoring. Others—

A warm arm slithered across his midsection, and she scooted closer until his back met her front. Lips found his neck, a sensuous tongue lapped his pulse. He shivered involuntarily. "I know you're awake," she whispered against his skin, her breath hot and inviting.

Slowly, he turned to face her, grateful that he'd had the foresight to wear a shirt to bed. He could barely see her in the darkness, his bedsheets blessedly covering her to her neck, her eyes large and piercing and close enough to make his own cross trying to look at them. When she leaned forward slightly, brushing her lips against his, he felt the alarm he always did, felt the warmth low in his belly that ignited the fire in his veins, and he pulled away.

But Karin merely pressed herself closer, recapturing his mouth with an annoyed huff. A leg slung over his, bringing their pelvises dangerously close, and a normally dormant part of him twitched; he lost any will to fight her off when her fierce tongue met his.

Losing himself, he flipped her onto her back, pressing her into the sheets and enjoying whatever fruity drink still lingered in her mouth. But when her fingers dipped into the waistband of his pants, he paused.

This had never happened before.

All of the other times, she would drunkenly climb into his bed, he would let her kiss him (though if he were honest, he was in no way a passive player in the whole matter), and then she would fall asleep. The way he rationalized it to himself was that  _she_  came on to  _him_ , and she never remembered the next morning. It was harmless. But  _this_ …

"Stop," he said huskily, wrapping a hand around her wrist before she could go any further. He wouldn't let her do this. Not when she didn't know what she was doing.

For a moment they stared at each other silently, Karin's face stonily serious. Then she snorted, and her teeth glinted in the moonlight. "You're no fun," she chided, tapping him on the nose with a finger.

Ten minutes later she was snoring, off in dreamland while he wondered if he could possibly sleep at all.

~.~.~

The first time was a complete accident.

She had gone drinking with Matsumoto, lost sight of her limits, and become drunk as a skunk. She woke up late the next morning, alone in Toshiro's bed in her underwear, heart pounding and nauseous as all hell. When she had embarrassingly asked him about it later, he had told her, face red, that she had merely climbed into his bed and passed out.

The thought that he had let her, had watched her strip down and climb into his bed and didn't wake her up or force her to move, planted the seed in her mind. Exactly how far would he be willing to let her take it?

At first she was embarrassed to strip half-naked in front of him, but she knew she had to keep the ruse going, and quickly got used to it. Got a little thrill at feeling his eyes on her in the dark.

Sometimes she was drunk, sometimes only a little tipsy. At times she would cuddle into his side; others she wouldn't touch him at all. Always she would lean close to breathe in the chill that naturally rose from his skin; often she would taste the frost at his lips.

Always, he would open himself to her. Always, she would remember.

Tonight she decided to keep it going, and fumbled the keys to the front door. Trying to be relatively quiet, she entered without turning any lights on, and stubbed her toe on a piece of furniture for her effort. Cursing, she continued unsteadily in the dark, pausing when she reached her room. Swallowing, she looked in the general direction of Toshiro's room.

Was tonight one of those nights?  _Should_  she?

He was probably tired. But now that she had put the idea into the universe, her feet were moving of their own accord to his room. Still, after opening his door, she paused in his doorway, undecided.

His eyes glinted at her in the darkness before disappearing.

_Oh._

Was he  _waiting_  for her?

Decision made, she stepped inside, slowly slipping her shirt over her head as she went. Pulled her jeans down her hips. Considered taking off the rest before merely lifting the covers and sliding in.

Yes, this would be one of those nights, she realized as Toshiro held his breath. Karin reached for him, invading his side of the bed. Circled an arm around his middle and kissed his neck, feeling his pulse thunder excitedly against her tongue.

"I know you're awake."


	35. Prompts: Crossover/Red

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompts: "Crossover" and "Red"

It was just her luck, getting stuck with the new kid. If only Yuzu had been in the same class as her this year. Then the teacher would never have volunteered Karin to be his partner.

She didn't have anything against the guy. But he was really pretty, pretty enough for the other girls in her class to be ready to kill each other over him.

_(Maybe that was her downfall? Instead of ignoring him, she should have thrown herself at him. Reverse psychology on her sensei and all that)_

Anyway, he was so attractive with his pale skin and pale hair that it had to mean he was a conceited asshole. And Karin had no time for that—she just wanted to finish the chemistry lab and go home.

Still, she tried not to hold her preconceived notions against him. "Hi," she said, what she hoped looked like a friendly smile plastered on her face. She hopped onto the stool next to his. "I'm Kurosaki Karin."

The new kid didn't look at her, every muscle in his body taut with tension. "Hitsugaya Toshiro," he pushed through gritted teeth. From the pained look on his face, he looked like he needed to take a shit.

_(Damn. What's his problem?)_

Karin cleared her throat, slightly put off by the way Hitsugaya was covering his nose with the crook of his arm, and how he was leaning so far away from her on his stool, it was a wonder he didn't fall off. Discreetly, she sniffed her armpits in case she forgot to deodorize that morning, but found she smelled fine. She frowned. "Well, let's get started."

Her new lab partner didn't move, so, sighing, Karin reached over him to screw in the Bunsen burner.

 _(She always fucking got the crazy ones, what the hell_ — _)_

Hitsugaya's eyes snapped to hers, startled, and Karin's fingers instantaneously dropped the cord.

They were blue, almost disturbingly so, with enough green in them to remind her of the obviously photoshopped color of water on vacation pamphlets. But it was the way he looked at her that made the breath stop in her throat.

Carefully, she picked the cord back up and screwed it in. "Maybe…you should eat something."

His eyes widened, and for a few moments, they just stared at each other. Then he abruptly stood, his stool making a loud screech as its legs scraped across the tiled floor, and booked it out of there so fast, Karin questioned whether she had imagined him in the first place.

~.~.~

For the next two days, her new lab partner was nowhere to be seen. But on the third day, Karin walked into class to find him waiting for her. She was  _livid_.

_(Who the hell did he think he was?!)_

"Hello," Hitsugaya greeted as she climbed onto her stool. The crazy look was gone from his eyes, instead replaced by someone completely amiable.

 _(Oh, so he was talking to her now?_ Looking _at her?)_

She fixed him with a patented Kurosaki Glare, pulling her notes out of her backpack. "Have a nice vacation?"

He looked embarrassed. "I didn't go on vacation."

"Coulda fooled me. Seeing as I had to do all the work by myself," she said pointedly.

He shifted, but it wasn't away from her this time. In fact, it looked like he was getting  _closer_. "I'm sorry about that."

"Yeah, well." Nope, his pretty face wasn't getting him out of this one. "I showered this morning, so you have no more excuses for splitting."

"You think—" he sputtered, looking frazzled for the first time that day. "You don't—"

"I know I don't, Hitsugaya," she replied cooly.

His mouth opened and closed a few times, before he merely stared at her like she was the most interesting creature. "Are you normally this much of a ballbuster?"

"It's kind of my middle name." She slipped her goggles on. "Now are you going to do your part or what?"

~.~.~

Over the next couple weeks, Karin found herself warming up to her lab partner. The first day that they'd met seemed to be a fluke; the jumpy, crazy-eyed Hitsugaya was gone, replaced by someone who was polite, dry-humored, and  _very_  interested in her.

Not even interested romantically, at least, not that she could tell. Just interested,  _fascinated_ , really. He asked about her family, her childhood, her favorite foods and colors and music—all very slyly, so that sometimes she didn't even realize what he was doing until after the fact. It made Karin a little nervous—

( _What the hell was so interesting about_ her)

—but whenever she countered by asking about  _his_  life, he seemed to answer honestly. He had a sister that he was really close with. His favorite color was green. His family moved because they needed a fresh start.

So she ignored the creeping suspicion coiling in her gut. Toshiro seemed like a good guy, and he was kind of becoming a friend. Also, being friendly with him pissed off the bitches in her class, so that was an added bonus.

But then Karin began seeing him everywhere.

The first time, she was grocery shopping with her twin sister, Yuzu, when a flash of white caught her attention. She turned in that direction, but was met with empty air, so she shrugged it off. But then she would see flashes of his face in hallways. Feel his eyes on her when he was nowhere in sight. And it happened so often, that she knew it wasn't a coincidence, wasn't a trick of her mind.

So, steeling her resolve and not caring who saw, she found herself walking over to the lunch table he shared with a dark-haired girl and a busty blonde. When she approached, they all stopped talking, looking up at her in interest, but Karin focused on Hitsugaya.

"Stop following me."

His bright eyes widened a fraction, but his face remained a mask. "What are you talking about?"

"I'm not scared of you." Her fists clenched, hiding the slight tremor that betrayed otherwise. "And if you don't stop stalking me, I'm going to knock your fucking teeth in."

People were starting to stare now, and the blond woman next to him looked like she wanted to laugh, her mouth a perfect  _O_. Hitsugaya just stared, measured and calculating.

Satisfied, Karin turned on her heel.

"Is that your girlfriend?" the blonde stage-whispered. "I like her."

"Shut up, Matsumoto," he responded darkly.

Face red, Karin returned to her table, heart pounding, tongue suddenly too heavy to answer Yuzu's questions.

~.~.~

"Can I talk to you?"

He was there, at her locker, but she had seen him approach, casual and nonthreatening.

She turned her head. "We're talking now."

"You know what I mean." His eyes really were too intense sometimes; she desperately wanted to look away, but she didn't want to lose their unspoken battle for dominance.

"No I don't. Please explain." She didn't know why she was being so difficult; as much as she wanted to apologize, she wanted to push him away and keep her distance.

He ruffled his hair irritably. "I want to talk,  _alone_." And then, because he seemed to sense her hesitation, "You can pick the place."

Karin bit the inside of her cheek. He didn't  _look_  like he was going to jump her and do unspeakable things. Of course, she  _had_  just accused him of stalking her in front of most of the school. She exhaled deeply. "Fine. Come on."

She led him out to the parking lot, ignoring the stares that followed them, and unlocked her car, climbing in and prompting him to do the same.

It was pretty clever, if she did say so herself. No one else would be able to hear their conversation, but there were plenty of students walking around that she felt slightly safer.

_(Not that that could save her if he actually tried to do something)_

"I have practice in an hour," she declared, compulsively smoothing down her uniform. "They'll come looking for me if I don't show."

Hitsugaya looked insulted. "Is that really how you think of me?"

"I don't know what to think about you anymore, Toshiro." She glared. "And can you really blame me? Why are we here?"

He huffed, still a little annoyed. But then his expression changed from affronted to reluctant understanding. "I just wanted to apologize."

"For?" she demanded, arms crossed.

He swallowed. "For following you. I'm sorry. I knew it was creepy when I did it, but I couldn't help myself, and I figured you wouldn't find out anyway so…" A pause. "How  _did_  you find out?"

Karin shifted in her seat. "I saw you."

Disbelief filled his features. "You  _saw_  me."

"Yes!" She cleared her throat, ready to move on. "Now are we done?"

He was really looking at her now, that familiar riveted expression in his eyes, and Karin struggled not to squirm under his scrutiny. "…Remember when we first met?"

"Vividly," she huffed.

"Why did you suggest I eat something?"

She froze, silent for a second too long. "Because you looked like you needed a fucking sandwich."

He tilted his head. "Really."

She opened her mouth and closed it, a vein in her jaw jumping. "Think about what you're doing, Toshiro," she said lowly. "Are you really sure this is the route you want to take?"

He just met her gaze challengingly. The ball was in her court.

"Fine," she retorted, eyes narrowing.

_(If that's the way you want to play)_

"How old are you?"

"Seventeen," he answered, an eyebrow quirked in question.

She poked him in the arm. "BULL. SHIT. How long have you  _been_  seventeen?"

Pause. "A while," he conceded, still intently watching her.

"Well that settles it then," she said lightly. "Now I know for sure what you are."

"Say it."

Karin scoffed. "I'm not doing that. It's stupid. And we both know that I know, so what's the point?"

The corner of his lips quirked, but he regarded her carefully. "You're not afraid?"

"No," she replied, tapping her fingers on the steering wheel distractedly.

"Bullshit," he countered with a small smile. "You can't even be alone with me."

She looked at him like he was crazy. "How stupid do you think I am? You've kind have been stalking me. What do you expect me to do?"

"I said I was sorry about that," Hitsugaya muttered irritably. "Are you ever going to let that go?"

Karin grinned. " _Prooobably_  not. I'm starting to like you, and teasing is how I show my affection."

He grumbled some more, but she could tell his heart wasn't in it.

_(And he was clearly starting to like her too)_

~.~.~

"I apologize in advance for my family," Karin told him, opening her front door. "Well, my siblings aren't that bad, but my dad is a nutcase."

Toshiro gave her a look that said he didn't believe her and went inside, slipping off his shoes.

_(If only he knew)_

Well, he was about to find out. Karin had wanted to delay this for as long as possible, but an English project had her reluctantly agreeing to bringing him home with her. Oh well, it was now or never.

"Welcome home~" her father sang, bounding towards her with the clear intention to bowl her over with a bone-crushing hug. Karin sighed.

But Toshiro froze, eyes widened in what she could only describe as fear. She halted her father with a well-timed uppercut and turned to Hitsugaya confusingly. "What's wrong?"

He looked way too pale, even for him. " _That's_  your father?"

"Unfortunately, yes." She frowned. "Do you know him or something?"

He watched as Isshin rubbed his jaw, crocodile tears trailing down his cheeks. "Yeah," he said quietly. "He's the pureblood that turned me."

Karin's jaw reached for the floor, but she quickly snapped it shut. She turned towards her father angrily. " _What_?"

Isshin's tears abruptly stopped, and he looked at them with one of the most serious expressions Karin had ever seen him make. "I knew you looked familiar. Believe me when I tell you that I am so sorry, son."

Toshiro just looked at him warily.

"Please accept my sincerest apologies. I know that there is never a valid reason for what I've done to you." He paused. "But in my defense, it was the seventies, and there were a lot of drugs."

" _Dad_ ," Karin snapped. "You blame everything on the seventies."

" _A lot_ ," he reiterated.

_(like she hadn't heard this a million times)_

"And I was on all of them."

Hitsugaya sighed, accepting. And when Karin turned her incredulity in his direction, her merely supplied, "There  _were_  a lot of them."

Karin walked away, hands in the air, praying for guidance. "Damn hippies."

~.~.~

They were in her room, books out, but Hitsugaya was staring at her, clearly fitting the pieces together. "It makes sense now. Why I was attracted to you initially."

Karin's blood hummed at  _initially_ , at the promise it foretold. "Why?" she humored him.

"You're the daughter of the one that turned me." He frowned. "Why didn't you tell me that you were a vampire?"

"It's not like that's something I throw around willy nilly," she countered, eyes on her book but mind not registering any of the text. "I didn't know you. And besides, I'm only a halfsie. And your kind looks down on atrocities like me."

"I don't," he said softly enough to make her meet his eye. He swallowed. "Is that how you knew I needed to feed?"

She smiled. "Yeah, my brother gets like that sometimes. Though he's never looked as crazy as you did. What the hell were you thinking?"

"I've been trying to wean myself off of human blood," he replied, ruffling his hair agitatedly. "That day was particularly bad. And then  _you_  showed up—"

"Hey," she interrupted, "I was here first.  _You_  showed up, looking like a lunatic. And why would you try to stop? You can drink off of people and not kill them, you know."

He exhaled slowly. "I just feel bad doing it. Don't you?"

"Not really." Karin shrugged. "I mean, I don't have to feed as often as you do, and a lot of times I can ward off my thirst by eating a rare steak. But I don't feel bad for the cow either. We're predators, Toshiro. It's the circle of life and all that shit."

He raised an eyebrow, not convinced.

"Look." She swallowed. "Would it make you feel better if you fed off of me instead?"

His complexion darkened, eyes practically bugging out of his head.

_(What was his problem?)_

Karin shifted self-consciously. "What? Is that weird or something? My sister and I do it all the time."

Hitsugaya cleared his throat. "Vampires don't usually feed off each other unless—" He cleared his throat again. "Yeah, I don't think that's such a good idea."

"Oh, come on," she urged, pushing her hair aside and baring her smooth, pale neck. "We can't have you going on a hungry rampage and terrorizing my town. I grew up here." And when he still hesitated, "Come on, just a little nibble, to see if it'll work."

Cautiously, he scooted over to her, Adam's apple bobbing as he swallowed. "Tell me to stop at any point," he said, voice gravelly, cool fingers trailing across the hot skin of her neck.

She tilted her head in response, ignoring her body's natural spike of fear as his canines elongated. For a moment, his fangs merely scraped the surface of her neck, sending a thrill through her whole body. But she was wholly unprepared for her reaction when he finally sunk his teeth into her.

She squeaked as pleasure shot straight to her groin.

_(This was nothing like when Yuzu fed…)_

She suddenly felt too confined by her clothes—her nipples straining against her tshirt, her skin rippling with desire, every inch of her begging to be touched. And the longer Toshiro fed, the more heat built in her belly, and the harder it was not to squirm beneath his teeth.

She was just starting to realize what she had gotten herself into.

_(She should tell him to stop)_

But instead, she sagged against him, her teeth's ironclad grip on her lip the only thing keeping moans from escaping.


	36. Prompt: Free the Animal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inspired by Sia's song because I am obsessed and you should all listen to it~
> 
> Rating: E

"Is this seat taken?"

Karin looked up from her martini and into the eyes of the waiting gentleman. She frowned slightly, but when she noticed his uninterested expression, the way his eyes, the same eerie blue as her drink, didn't stray down to her cleavage, she knew that he really just wanted the seat and nothing else. She inclined her head.

He climbed onto the stool, not particularly tall but not short either. His hair was surprisingly white for such a young-looking man, wisps of it fluttering in the bar's air conditioning. "Thanks," he told her distractedly, waving down the bartender.

"No problem." She turned away, but couldn't help watching him out of the corner of her eye. He was attractive, dressed sharply in a black suit, her lips parting as he idly unbuttoned the first few buttons of his black shirt and revealed the pale, smooth skin underneath. He was polite, thanking the bartender when his whiskey on the rocks was placed in front of him. And after slightly lifting his glass to her, he turned away, nursing his drink in silence.

Her interest was officially piqued. He was making her rethink her plans for the night.

Deliberately, she shifted, the high slit in her dress flashing her thigh. Her companion's eyes flickered in her direction, flashing in the low light, but when he did nothing but wave the bartender down for a refill, she frowned to herself.

She liked the quiet, shy types for this kind of thing, because they tended to let her have her way. But that also meant she would have to do all of the work.

"So," he said suddenly, snapping her out of her reverie. His voice was husky, as if it had been rolled in gravel, and it made Karin's skin tingle pleasantly. "Are you here for business or pleasure?"

She took a sip of her drink, turning to face him. "Business," she allowed, pleasantly surprised. This might not be as tedious as she thought. "Yourself?"

"Same."

She couldn't help but laugh at the stony look on his face. "Long day?" she teased.

His lips quirked. "You could say that. I'm…working back to back shifts."

"I know what that's like." She was surprised at herself, usually preferring to drink alone, in silence, before a job. But her companion wasn't pushy, and she knew from earlier that he was perfectly content drinking quietly as well. They were both  _choosing_  to have small talk with each other, and that intrigued her. She reached a recently-manicured hand his way. "Karin."

And immediately wanted to kick herself.

Still, the man didn't seem to notice her moment of panic, slipping his hand into hers. "Toshiro."

She shifted uneasily, momentarily thrown. Toshiro seemed to read her body language, cocking his head in question, but Karin just slightly rearranged the top of her dress, as if the low-cut neckline had merely made her wary of a wardrobe malfunction. It was a stupid mistake, but most likely wasn't worth worrying about. She cleared her throat, reluctantly letting go of his cool fingers. If she was smart, she would leave now, but to be honest, her mind had been made up the moment he sat down.

She was here for business, but no one ever said business couldn't be pleasurable. Besides, she always did better on the job after a good lay.

"So, Toshiro." She lifted her drink, leaving a ring of condensation on the countertop. Took a sip. "How would you feel about a little company tonight?"

His eyes widened a fraction before he cleared his throat, uncomfortable. "I'm sorry, but I don't usually pay for—"

Her head cocked to the side, a grin stretching across her face. "You think I'm a prostitute?"

"…You're not?" he asked slowly, a panicked flush creeping over his features. "You said you were here for work and you were sitting at the bar alone and you propositioned me so I just thought—"

"Not a prostitute," she confirmed, amusement dancing in her eyes. "Just horny. Man, can't a girl dress up and get a drink alone in the bar of a fancy hotel without people assuming she's a high-end prostitute?" She gave him a sidelong look. "High-end, right?"

"Of course." He sighed audibly, running a hand through his stark hair and holding it there. "I am  _so_  sorry."

"Don't worry about it," she said, laughing. Her foot tapped him below the knee. "So is that a yes or no?"

"What?"

Her foot crept a little higher, and his attention wandered to it. "Do you want to fuck me?" His gaze snapped back to hers at that. "It's okay to say no. I'll find someone else."

_"No."_  He cleared his throat, hand twisting around his glass. "I mean, I want to."

Her night was getting more interesting by the second. She leaned closer to him, a hand lightly tracing circles into his thigh, breath misting his face. "You want to what?" she prompted, her voice quiet.

His eyes visibly darkened, their hue now almost a forest green. And for a split second, she could have sworn his expression was just as dark, sending a thrill down her spine. But then it was gone, replaced by his cool, mild-mannered façade. But maybe she had just imagined it in the first place? She had taken him for the quiet, submissive type, but she was starting to realize she might have been wrong.

He took a long swig from his glass, draining the contents. He licked his lips. "I want to fuck you," he said, lowly and serenely.

_Well._ She smiled mischievously. "And how do you want to fuck me?"

He stood in answer, holding a hand out to her.

"Don't I get to finish my drink?" Karin asked, amused. Still, she placed her hand in his, allowing him to guide her off her stool.

"You don't even want it," he said coolly, guiding her hand into the crook of his elbow. They left the bar and entered the lobby. "You probably would have enjoyed mine more."

She looked at him, startled. "What makes you say that?" she asked, tone purposely light.

Toshiro paused, pressing the  _up_  button on the elevator, and then, impatiently, a couple more times. "You just don't seem like the fruity cocktail type, I guess."

Karin's eyebrows rose, but she didn't say anything. She wondered what about her fancy evening gown and high, high heels gave him that impression.

~.~.~

She turned, sweeping her long hair over one shoulder. "Help me get out of this dress."

Dutifully, he reached for the zipper and slowly inched it down, revealing the smooth expanse of her pale back. When she removed her arms from the holes, the red dress pooled to the floor.

She heard him swallow when he realized she wore nothing underneath it.

Her ego stoked, Karin turned to meet him, her nipples pink and puckering in the cool air. Toshiro immediately lasered in on them, her barbell nipple piercings no doubt demanding his attention.

"You can touch them," she reminded him, taking one of his hands and placing it on her breast. His thumb brushed a barbell before he moved it away. "That's kind of what they're for."

"Sorry," he murmured, giving the underside of her breast a squeeze and trailing fingers down her side. "I've just..." He looked indecisive, and when he made no move to touch them again, Karin inwardly shrugged. It looked like she was going to be taking the lead after all. Fine by her.

Quickly, she reached for his pants, his breath audibly hitching as her fingers nimbly undid his belt. "I just have one rule," she said conversationally. Briefly, her hand slipped inside the gap, met with a hardness that was radiating heat. "No kissing." She gave him a testing stroke through his underwear, and he stopped breathing altogether, his pelvis arching into her before he could control himself. She smirked, removing her hand.

He was full-mast—the work was already done.

"You won't be needing this," she said softly, working her hands beneath his blazer and sliding it off of his shoulders. In other circumstances, it would be strange to methodically undress a grown man; now, it turned her on to see how much it turned  _him_  on to watch her do so. The hairs on her arms stood at the intense look he gave her as she undid his dress shirt one button at a time, lips quirking as the light scrape of her nails along his chest made goosebumps race to the surface.

And then she removed her touch altogether, stepping away. Toshiro looked at her, bewildered.

She stood there, hair inking wavy patterns across her skin, naked as the day she was born minus the stilettos she still wore. She gave his half-clothed form a calculated, appraising look, tongue darting across her lips as she thought. "Take off your pants," she demanded.

He blinked at her, pupils dilated, irises green with lust. For a moment, his features looked hard, almost  _feral_  in the low lighting, but then he slid his trousers down his legs and stepped out of them, kicking off his shoes.

Karin eyed the prominent bulge beneath the dark boxer-briefs. "Those too," she ordered with an incline of her head.

He complied, his erection springing free to thump against his abdominals. A bit of precum smeared there, already beading at the head of his shaft. Karin throbbed between the legs at the sight. But it wasn't enough to make her forget an important factor in the equation.

"Unfortunately" —she bent over procure a foil packet from her clutch, and felt his eyes on her ass, her pubic hair, her slightly-spread sex—"you're going to have to wear one of these."

Technically, she was on the shot, but that was none of his business and he didn't have to know. While she enjoyed casual sex, she never partook without a rubber. Sexy as he was, she just didn't know this guy well enough to go at it unguarded.

Ripping the packet open with her teeth, she gestured towards the bed. "Sit down."

He did, on the edge, pulse jumping in his clenched jaw, cock twitching as she drew near again and rolled the condom down it.

"Relax." She lightly massaged his shoulders with her palms, reaching a leg across him and centering herself over his lap. When she slid herself up the length of him, they both stopped breathing. She chuckled into his hair. "Enjoy the ride."

She dragged herself along him a few more times, using her grip on his shoulders to steady herself. His hands fisted the blanket in response, hot breath escaping his nose like a bull.

It was strange, Karin felt, that he seemed so hesitant, that he was trying to show restraint. It was she that had propositioned  _him_ , so obviously she wanted him to touch her. But maybe he was just shy. He probably didn't do this kind of thing—this sexing up random strangers thing—well,  _ever_.

She would just have to force a reaction out of him.

Without preamble, she grabbed him with her hand and guided him inside her. She shuddered as she slowly pushed down, as he spread her wide until he was encased to the hilt and she sitting flush against him.

She was close enough to hear him swear under his breath, and she hummed contentedly, using her knees as leverage to rise off him and slowly come back down. "This is nice, isn't it?" she asked, swirling her hips leisurely. "Taking it slow."

She laughed at the almost-constipated look on his face. Testing, she gave a few hard, bouncing thrusts, the bedsprings creaking with her movement, and she delighted in the way his eyes glazed over and his mouth went slack. "Well if you want to be fucked, then act like it," she demanded.

As if she had turned on a switch, suddenly his hands were right on her hips, forcing her up and down his shaft at a much faster pace. Karin grunted, eyes momentarily closing at the sudden delicious friction. Growling, she pushed on his chest until he fell back against the bed and she could use his chest as leverage to brutally force him inside her.

A couple times, it felt as if he was going to flip them over, but instead, he seemed content to watch her tits bounce as she rode him, jumping erratically with each movement of their frenzied, sweaty bodies.

Karin sighed, the telltale fluttering low in her belly promising what was to come. As if noticing the sudden desperation of her hips, Toshiro moved a hand inward, fingers brushing over the dark curls there until he could press a sure thumb against her clit.

Moaning low and long, Karin surrendered as he seemed to play her like a fiddle—jackhammering into her from below, putting almost too much pressure on her clit and making her quiver and pulse around him—until she was finally undone, tossing her head back in bliss, body spasming before pulling taut enough to snap.

It was enough to pull him with her, choking on more swears as he pounded into her mercilessly, hold bruising, and finally climaxed.

Karin flopped forward and rested her face in the juncture of his neck, breathing hard, completely spent. Her companion softened inside her, but neither of them made an attempt to move.

They laid there long enough for his breathing to start to slow, and the dark-haired woman took that as her cue. With effort, she pushed herself off him, grimacing at the feel of him sliding out.

Toshiro stirred, sitting up on his elbows and peeking at her from beneath snowy eyelashes. Eyes slanted almost shut, making him look like a contented cat. "You can stay if you'd like."

Karin brushed a few errant hairs away from her face and reached for her discarded dress. "Thanks, but I'd rather not."

He said nothing as he watched her slip the dress over her head.

Pulling up the zipper, smoothing out the garment, and making sure everything was in place, she turned to him again. "Thanks, I had a great time. See you around."

And before he could reply, she opened the door and left.

~.~.~

She was satiated—calm, relaxed. The itch had been scratched. Now it was time to get to work.

Sex always steadied her hand, she mused as she cut into the man's throat like butter, the gaping flesh a scarlet smile. Himura clutched it with both hands, but it was futile. His life was leaving him in a ruby fountain, his heart stupidly pumping it out between his fingers.

Karin watched, interested. It was still dark outside—late at night, or early in the morning, however you wanted to look at it—but she had made sure to turn the light on so the asshole would see her face as he bled to death. So she could feel the warming shiver she always got when she made blood pool in the sheets.

Technically, the man didn't have to die in such a messy way, and Ururu and Jinta were going to be  _pissed_  when they came to clean up after her and caught sight of the mess she'd made. But Himura was a rapist, so Karin found a bullet to the head to be too merciful. The satisfaction she got from watching blood bubble from his lips was plenty justifiable in her book.

Which is why, after leaving her fuckbuddy's hotel room, she had made her way back to her own, put her hair into a ponytail, and changed into a black shirt and black pants—something that would call less attention to herself.

Something that would hide the blood.

Then, using the extra room key that idiot Himura had slipped her earlier that night, she roused her victim. Just enough so that he would be conscious, so that she could see the recognition in his eyes before she slit his throat.

"You know," she said conversationally, meeting his eyes. They were bugging out of his head. "The next time you try to pick up girls, you should consider asking them what they'd like to drink. So they don't get stuck sipping blue bullshit."

He gurgled, dark liquid pooling below his neck.

"If you had considered what  _they_  wanted for once, you wouldn't have felt the need to force your pathetic chode on them." Her words were angry, her blood was boiling, but her voice was soft. Tone controlled. It would be a rookie mistake to let this fuckwad get into her head. Just watching him drown in his own blood was enough. "Ever think of that, you son of a bitch?"

She knew the exact moment when he left his body. One moment, he was making a noise similar to what she thought a fish out of water would make, and the next the fear was gone from his eyes.  _Everything_  was gone.

"Piece of shit," Karin swore, wiping her bloody blade on the stained comforter a few times. Himura had still died too quickly for her liking; she would have liked to have tied him up and shoved a few of his own toes down his windpipe, made him beg for the oblivion of death. But she was a professional, and the job was done.

Mildly irritated, she texted the room number to the contact in her phone marked  _Cleaners_  and left.

~.~.~

"The mark has been dealt with," Karin said airily. It was the next morning, and she was eating breakfast in bed before she checked out. "The job is done."

"Excellent, Agent Red," the soft voice replied, though it didn't sound especially happy about it.

Karin frowned, chewing her eggs slowly. "What's the matter, Agent Pink?"

Pink paused. "You have another mark."

"Already?" Karin asked, bewildered. "I'm still washing off the evidence of the last one."

"I'm sending the info to your tablet," Pink continued. "You...you need to take this one."

"When have I ever refused a job?" Karin mumbled around her food. She picked up the tablet from her nightstand, and opened the incoming document. "I'll get to it right after…"

At the picture on her screen, her blood immediately ran cold. Her voice froze in her throat.

Toshiro stared back at her.

"It's of the highest importance that the mark be handled immediately," Pink said seriously.

"W- _What_?" Karin finally managed to croak. She scanned the details quickly, her eyes growing wide as saucers. " _The Society?_  I thought we had an agreement with them! What happened to our longstanding deal to ignore each other and not get in each other's way—"

Pink snorted. "Not valid anymore, apparently. You've appeared in their database. For some reason, you're now a target. And Agent Dragon has taken the case."

She ran a hand through her hair, holding it there. This could not be happening. The world was a fucked up place and karma was an enormous bitch.

"You need to be careful," Pink continued, worry tainting her tone. It was one of the reasons Pink was more suited to intelligence than the field—she didn't have as tight a rein on her emotions as Karin did. "Agent Dragon is dangerous. He is one of The Society's best agents. It might be in your best interest to find him before he finds you."

Her heart thudded in her ears. She swallowed. "Don't you have faith in me, Yu?"

She could almost see her sister's soft gaze through the phone. "Of course I do. But that doesn't mean I can't ask you to watch your back."

Her eyes steeled. "I always do."

~.~.~

She rapped twice on the door, mouth pursed in determination. It was easy enough to get a maid's uniform—disgustingly ruffled dress, knee-highs with little bows on them, and even a stupid little bonnet—and even easier to procure a master key.  _Find him before he finds you_ , her twin had said. It was much too late for that. But at the very least, he wasn't aware she knew of his identity. She could jump him before he jumped her.

"Housekeeping," she said softly, reaching into the bust of her uniform and making sure her back was to the hall's camera. The gun was warm in her hand, familiar, and she quickly clicked off the safety and used the key to open the door.

Slowly, she stalked into the room, eyes roving it for signs of life, gun extended and ready to fire a bullet into his brain. She frowned when she saw no one, nerves on edge. "Housekeeping," she said again.

Suddenly, there was a body behind hers, an arm quickly wrapping around her midsection. "Are you, now." She jumped in alarm, but it was too late. Toshiro grabbed her shooting hand and pressed her into him. "That's not what I heard."

"And what exactly did you hear?" Her voice was even, calm. But Karin struggled to calm her pounding heart.

"Agent zero two eight three," he said calmly, twisting her wrist so far back that she hissed through her teeth, gun clattering uselessly to the ground. "Codename: Red."

His free hand inched up her legs, creeping between her slightly parted thighs and leaving goosebumps in its wake. "Specialty," he breathed against the shell of her ear, fingertips dangerously close to the edge of her underwear before backtracking and brushing over her thigh holster.  _"Knives."_

And then her knife was gone, making her growl in anger and frustration. Before he could even get a proper hold on the handle, she snapped her head back, hitting his jaw hard enough for her to see stars. Startled, he dropped the dagger, instinctively kicking it out of her reach and clutching her even closer to his body.

Close enough for her to feel a prominent part of him jutting into her ass.

"Oh," she breathed, a smirk on her lips. "Do you  _get off_  on pain?" A testing roll of her hips made him pause. Distracted him  _just_  enough. "Well it's a good thing I like inflicting it, then."

An elbow smashed into his solar plexus, knocking the air right out of him, and Karin was free to turn and punch him in the face with an audible  _crack_. He staggered a bit, knocking into the door. Noticing the gun was too far behind him to access safely, Karin scrambled for her blade, but soon found herself flattened, face down to the ground, as he rushed her, stopping her fingers from wrapping around the handle.

She squirmed, managing to flip over beneath him, only for him to grab her by the throat. Knees on either side of her hips, he leaned over and choked her with both hands, teal eyes impassively watching her scratch at him in an effort to lessen the pressure on her trachea. He was only in sweatpants, his shirtless torso rippling with the effort of keeping her immobile. Beneath his lips, his tongue slowly roved his mouth, and she watched as he spat out a tooth, leaving a bloody trail dribbling down his chin. "Himura was mine, you know," he said mildly, ignoring the red lines her nails created on his skin. "You stole my mark. Beautiful work, but he was mine. After I was done with you, of course."

Panicking a little, Karin flailed her feet, lifting her pelvis in the process and meeting his.

He paused, lessening his grip on her throat just enough for her to be able to take a gulp of air. His eyes pierced into hers. "Stop that."

Delirious, vision spotty, she did it again, groaning, her voice tinged with pain and a little something else. Toshiro noticed, lips parting as he placed slightly more pressure on her throat. Karin hummed, rolling against the bulge in his pants.

"You like that," he mused softly, eyes drawn to the way her breasts threatened to heave out of the top of her uniform. "Don't you?"

In response, she reached for him, and when he let her pull his face down to her level, she licked the blood from his skin until his tongue met hers. Karin smiled at the metallic taste of him, grunting when a hand left her neck and rushed up her dress, ripping aside her already soaked panties. There was the snapping sound of torn fabric, but neither of them cared, Karin wiggling anxiously as the cooler air hit her warm, sensitive flesh.

He easily sunk a finger in her to the third knuckle, and they both seemed to hold their breaths.

"You asked how I wanted to fuck you. Last night." He was speaking lowly, as if they were still downstairs, sitting side by side at the bar, and he didn't want anyone other than her to hear him. His finger slowly exited her, before being sucked back in by the pulsing heat. "Hard and fast. If we hadn't left when we did, I might have fucked you right there."

Her skin rippled at the admission. She imagined him sweeping everything off a table—tablecloth sliding, glasses shattering—and bending her over it, the wood creaking with the force of him taking her from behind. She groaned, thighs squeezing together and momentarily trapping his hand between them.

"Then prove it," she hissed, pushing her hips down in an attempt to draw him further inside.

With a growl, he slipped out of her, other hand releasing her throat. She was already starting to color there, dark marks in the shape of his hands. Impatiently, he pushed her dress up her torso, forcing her knees apart so he could fit between them.

With hurried hands, she slipped his sweatpants over his ass, and he backed away a little to help her, sliding the pants to his ankles and freeing his cock from its confines. It bobbed, already rock hard, and Karin bit her lip looking at it, allowing him to lift her hips to the right angle before he pushed roughly inside.

Her mouth formed a soundless  _O_ , speechless at the feeling of him filling her so completely. Toshiro wasted no time, his hold on her hips bruising as he slammed into her, pulling her forward to meet his onslaught. Grunting over the wet slapping sound, her hand reached down to meet one of his.

His pace faltered a bit as he watched her place his hand back at her throat, but then he tightened his grip around it, the storm in his eyes raging as she choked, her back arching in pleasure.

Karin vaguely realized that the carpet would rub her raw, but she couldn't feel the burn, not when the rest of her body was equally blazing. She clawed at him, leaving her mark all over his arms, and he hissed, twisting his hips in a way that made her eyes roll up in her head.

And then he stopped completely. Karin huffed, wiggling in protest, and he smirked, hand leaving her hip and yanking on the neckline of her dress, choking her further as the material fought the tension, threatening to rip. A rosy nipple escaped, already pebbled, and he leaned over her and lapped at it with varying pressure, teeth lightly scraping the skin and tugging on the end of the barbell.

"I knew you liked it," she said breathlessly as his hips continued motion, this time at a slow grind. "I knew you liked my piercing."

He hummed in agreement against her, hand freeing her other breast and twisting its peak.

She arched into his mouth, his hand. Pulled him up slightly by his hair, resting her lips at the juncture of his neck, sucking on his thundering pulse. Remembering how he reacted to pain, she bit him hard enough to break the skin, metal meeting her tongue again. He moaned, snapping his hips with enough force to make her pant, for her legs to start shaking. Mildly, at first, but when she squeezed a hand between them and roughly circled her clit with excited fingers, she bucked, her legs flailing violently.

He paused in the worshipping of her breasts to watch her face as she came, her hold on his hair borderline painful, her heels digging into his backside in an effort to force him farther inside. She made no sound, but her expression—eyes squeezed shut, mouth parted, as if surprised—was so erotic that he slammed into her, slanting his mouth over hers, trying to devour her. Quickly nearing his own end.

And it was when he finally did, grunting against her tongue, hot spurts of his seed coating her insides, that Karin reached up and wrapped a hand around the knife handle.

He collapsed onto her chest, but immediately froze at the feeling of cold steel biting his neck.

Neither of them moved.

"Such a shame," Karin murmured, placing a peck on the center of his lips, and then again at the corner of them. "I like you."

He met her eyes, intense stare making her skin ripple.

She sighed, pushing on his chest, and he moved off of her; her hips shifted, and he slid out. With deliberate movements, she removed the knife, admiring the thin scarlet line left in its wake. The blade was returned to its holster high on her thigh, and then she stood, patting her dress back into place and ignoring the wetness creeping down her legs.

He watched her intently from the floor as she picked up her wayward gun. Her lips quirked, and she slipped it back in the top of her dress.  _I could kill you_ , her knife had said. "You live another day, Agent Dragon."

_I'm not done playing_ , her eyes said now.

A smirk crept onto his face.

She opened the door, scouting for any passersby, before sparing a final glance at him over her shoulder. "The next time we meet, you won't be so lucky."

"We'll see about that," he replied, tone insinuating dark,  _delicious_  things.

As she shut the door behind her, legs jelly, Karin brainstormed the best way to tell Yuzu that she had let the mark get away. It wasn't like her; Karin  _always_  finished the job. Still, it wasn't like her mission was failed—there would be plenty of opportunities to end Toshiro's life. He would definitely cross paths with her again, most likely sooner than later, and she would be ready.

Her tongue glided over her lips, tasting him there.

Yes, she would be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cue Aizen pitting The Society against the Kurosakis as a distraction while he tries to take over the organization. Fucking shit up as per usual. And when Hitsu and Karin eventually figure it out, they of course join forces. But not before they have lots of hate sex ok
> 
> As you can see, I've got a full chapter fic planned out. What else is new. Will I ever write it? probably not lol. But never say never ^_^
> 
> Nipple-ring!Karin finally exists and you all should thank me ;D


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